Chapter 8
As always I want to thank Tertius711 for helping me with this chapter
Echidna leaned back on her chair laughing almost hysterically as her mind absorbed the knowledge promised to her. She savoured every single piece of knowledge. Flashes of endless eras and eons washed over her, names, faces, symbols, flags, maps, magic. She was experiencing all of it...and to think it was only a fraction of what was to come.
As promised, Mairon had given all the basic knowledge she needed to begin her research and she couldn't be more thrilled about it.
Mairon observed her with an amused expression before he spoke. "Na- everui nad maer cín fancui?"
Echidna realized Mairon was no longer speaking in the tongue they had been conversing it. The language he spoke was… ah Sindarin. He had asked her if she was enjoying his gifts. Her expression became more excited. "Hi na- beleg! All Hi golodh! (This is wonderful! All this knowledge!)"
"Ni am happime ana lar-I," He replied now using Quenya to tease the witch more.
Once again, Echidna understood what he just said and she placed her hands on her shoulders as she squirmed happily in her seat. "Ah~ it's been so long since I felt like this! You gave me thousands of years of knowledge only to tell me this is only the minimum! I can't wait to go back in my library to learn more! Shall we go now?"
Mairon chuckled amused. "Unfortunately you'll have to wait for that."
Echidna slammed her hand on the table and got close to his face with a pouty expression. "Eh? Why? You told me you would resurrect me! Are you afraid of the trials? You blocked me from accessing your mind! You can simply waltz into my tomb and destroy the barrier!"
"Indeed I could but it is not my job to do it, it's Emilia's," he said. Echidna sat back down, her excitement vanished into thin air.
"That girl...So you came with her...ugh...just thinking about her makes my stomach twist..." Echidna said disgustedly. "She doesn't have the strength to pass the trials. Just destroy the barrier yourself and get it over with."
"She does, I made sure she had that strength. You might find yourself surprised," Mairon countered, smirking as he got up. "Well it is time for me to go, if anything is going according to my plans, our troops should be at the village by now."
Echidna sighed. "I would give you an amulet to keep in contact but it would seem like this ring is a far better replacement."
Mairon nodded and with that, the scenery of the tea party disappeared and he was back in the tomb. He marched down the corridor until he was out again and was pleased to see the Silver Army setting up a camp in front of the tomb. Emilia was waiting for him at the base of the stairs that led up to him with a smile on her face.
"My apologies for my sudden disappearance Your Majesty," he said with a soft voice as he walked down the stairs.
"No need for apologies." She replied smiling as she turned around. "The people of Sanctuary have decided to cease the hostilities thanks to Frederica."
Mairon looked around seeing what he guessed were the local people in line as they received food brought by the army. Not too far away from them, he saw the half-elf he spoke with telepathically when they first arrived, Lady Ryuzu, and Garfiel talking with Frederica. The young beastman seemed agitated.
"The people from Irlam?" He asked her as he began approaching the three.
Emilia smiled. "We were about to get them on the carriages to be sent home...and you? What did you see in there?"
"A glimpse of the trials you'll face." He answered. Calmly. "Your past mainly, the one you don't remember."
Emilia's gaze darkened a bit. "Do you think I will be able to make it?"
"The past is the past, it might be painful, it might be tragic, it might be horrific but there is no point in dwelling on it, you cannot change it no matter how much you want to. Learn from it and move on." He replied placing his hand on her shoulder.
"What if...the person who I once was is someone I would hate?" The Half-Elf rebutted looking away from her mentor.
"Then dig her a grave and put a tombstone on it," he told her with absolute conviction. "Who you were will not change who you are now and if it bothers you then let that person die in the past, it's that easy."
Emilia was a bit shocked by Mairon's bluntness but in a way, his words were comforting in a way. She looked at Puck's crystal on her neck and looked up to Mairon. "Mairon..."
The Bright Lord looked at her. "Yes?"
"I...lost contact with Puck...the crystal cracked...I don't know why...I took good care of it I swear!" The Half-Elf lamented touching her crystal.
Mairon stopped and touched the Crystal with the tip of his fingers "Hm...Someone has tampered with it...Probably Roswaal."
Emilia widened her eyes. "Why would Roswaal do this?"
Mairon knelt down to get his face to Emilia's level and took her hand "Emilia...there is something I have to show you..."
Emilia looked a bit fearful but nodded nevertheless "Show me..."
With that the Bright Lord showed Emilia what Roswaal has been doing in the shadows through their connection with the ring. Slowly, The Half-Elf's expression turned into one of shock as she learned of the terrible things he had done.
"This can't be...he...used me...He used all of us! He did terrible things to Rem! Ram! Everyone! We must do something! We must bring him to justice!"
Mairon nodded. "I will face him soon enough; you will free the people of the barrier around this supposed sanctuary. As much as you hate what he has done, he's still your sponsor and we still need him. Don't mistake these words for a lack of punishment, he will pay. I will think of a way to get Puck back, trust me."
Emilia slowly nodded and took a deep breath before looking at him with newfound determination.
The two of them finally reached the trio they were walking to and immediately the young man marched into Mairon's personal space as some sort of intimidation tactic...which failed miserably considering Mairon's size while in his armour.
"Huuuh? This is the Great Mairon those villagers kept blabbing about? You look more like every other tin knight!"
Mairon contemplated sending the boy flying like the soldiers of the Last Alliance but fortunately for Garfiel, the Bright Lord was not as brash as him.
"Young Gar...watch your mouth when talking to the elderly...," Lady Ryuzu scolded the young lad. "He's even older than me according to Lady Emilia..."
"Aaah? Older than you? By how much?" Garfiel replied raising an eyebrow at that.
Emilia scratched her cheek. "He's fifty-four...thousand years old."
Garfiel looked at Mairon, then to Ryuzu and then back to Mairon before bursting into laughter. "Now isn't that funny? Are you sure your old bones can carry all that armour? Want me to get a staff like Ryuzu's?"
Before he could continue, Lady Ryuzu used her staff to hit on top of his head "Young Gar, what did I just say?"
Frederica sighed as she facepalmed. "I am incredibly sorry Lord Mairon, my brother is quite...energetic..."
Mairon raised his hand gesturing that apologies were not necessary. "It is alright, sometimes young minds like to run rampant I am sure eventually he will grow wiser..."
"Huh? What is that supposed to mean?" Garfiel replied with his usual annoyed tone.
"It means that hopefully in the future you'll refrain from taking hostages or at least think about it twice!" His sister scolded him putting her hands on her hips.
"Fortunately, we seem to have resolved the issue peacefully," Emilia said sighing.
"Nothing was fucking resolved!" Garfiel shouted enraged causing the knights around to focus on him. "You are still stuck here! The barrier will not let you go! That is unless you pass the trials! So get your fancy ass up there!"
This time it was Frederica who grabbed him by the ears with a severe expression. "Gar! Stop it! That's not how-"
"I know," Emilia interrupted the maid with a determined expression while clenching her fists. "I know what must be done and I'll get to it immediately...I'll get you all out of here!"
Garfiel didn't seem impressed and just grunted in reply. Lady Ryuzu remained silent although it was clear that something was in her mind.
"Mairon...I'm heading into the tomb!" Emilia said looking at her mentor.
He nodded. "And I'm going to Roswaal...Rem, you know what to do."
The Maid grabbed her Morningstar and nodded while the Half-Elf began climbing up the steps of the tomb.
The Silver Knights quickly made a shield wall denying access to the tomb to anyone else. Mairon began walking towards the house Roswaal was in, Rem at his side.
Garfiel seemed to be angered as he eyed the Silver Knights. "So we should just let them do it?! Who knows what waits for us outside..."
"Young Gar...there is nothing we can do," Ryuzu spoke shaking her head.
"We can fight!" Garfiel hissed at her.
"Gar are you out of your mind?! The army here would tear us to shreds!" Frederica tried in shock at her brother's proposal.
"That will lead us to our death and not by the hands of the army...but his," Ryuzu said eyeing the towering knight. "If I gather all of the others...and attack him...We probably will not be able to even dent his armour."
Garfiel widened his eyes and looked at his sister as if asking her for confirmation.
"Before coming here, Lord Mairon faced the Witch Cult and the White Whale...and before that, he took care of a famous serial killer called the Bowel Hunter," Frederica said before looking at the Silver Knights. "And he is the one who made them...out of nowhere."
Garfiel grit his teeth and clenched his fist as he watched Mairon and Rem enter the building where Roswaal was.
The Bright Lord and the Inquisitor entered the building and eyed the Court Mage wrapped in bandages and being tended to by Ram. Rem was not even bothering with showing any respect for her former employer much to her sister's confusion which only further grew once she noticed that the blue-haired oni had her weapon drawn.
"Oh please, don't insult us with this charade Roswaal," Mairon replied shaking his head.
Rem narrowed her eyes. "As if the Court Mage would need bandages to heal..."
Ram frowned. "Sister that is not the way to speak to Lord Roswaal!"
"It's the way to talk to a murderer!" Rem shouted back shocking her sister who stumbled back. "I know everything Ram! Of our village! Of your deal with him!"
"My my, I've been found out it would seem...Oh well not that it matters, I don't see Lady Emilia." Roswaal narrowed his eyes.
"She is on her way to clear the trials," Mairon replied calmly crossing his arms.
Roswaal sighed and got up from his seat and to Ram's shock he lifted his arms summoning various orbs of power. "That is not acceptable, you should be the one to free Sanctuary...Fortunately, it is an easy fix."
"Rem, take your sister away...I'll take care of this," Mairon ordered her softly. He was calm, and not at all worried by Roswaal's threat.
In a silent agreement, the Court Mage and the Dark Lord waited for the two girls to be far away from the building before they started. As soon as Roswaal thought their presence far enough, he launched the orbs of power against Mairon causing a massive explosion that incinerated the building in an instant much to the shock of those who witnessed it.
Roswaal was up in the sky staring down as from the crater Mairon appeared unscathed staring right back at him before spreading his arms challenging him.
"He grew stronger since the last time we saw each other," Echidna noted having felt the attack through the One.
The Bright Lord remained calm. "She is delighted to see that you got better in the past few centuries. She's eager to see what other spells you've armed yourself with, don't keep her waiting Altair."
Roswaal widened his eyes at those words before smirking. "If that's the case...Let's put on a great show!" He shouted summoning a pillar of fire surrounded by blades of wind.
"Yes, let's..." Mairon replied darkly.
The earth shook as Roswaal kept throwing spell after spell against Emilia's knight who kept on taking them without making a single move to counter. Snow began to fall only for it to be vaporized as the Court Magician launched beams of pure fire against his opponent. The sky had darkened and it seemed like a storm was approaching. The stone melted as the magical fire impacted it. The trees that were not set on fire were cleanly cut by razor-sharp wind blades. From the bowels of the earth, tendrils of water surfaced with extreme pressure with the intent of tearing Mairon apart. The earth itself opened to swallow the knight and to impale him and a hole full of spikes.
And yet, each attack failed to reach the Dark Lord who took it all silently and stoically. Roswaal ceased his assault as he used his yellow eye to try to see which magic was protecting his opponent but instead, he narrowed his eyes as he saw the Authority of Sloth creating a barrier around the man. It was arranged like paper, layers of invisible hands creating a thick barrier which seemed to be almost impenetrable.
But the Court Magician wouldn't be discouraged by such a thing, he might not be able to dispel an Authority but with enough force, he could pierce through it. He took control of the earth under Mairon's feet and cemented his feet to keep him in place as chains of water grabbed onto his arms before he began to cast his fivefold magic creating five fire spells that converged into a beam of pure heat which shot directly at Mairon melting through his authority and hitting square in the middle of his chest before the entire area was completely wrapped into a massive explosion which would have certainly destroyed the village if they hadn't moved during the fight.
"That should be all, see you in the next loop Lord Mairon," Roswaal said as he observed the lake of molten magma that was in Mairon's place.
"What a curious thing you just said," Mairon's voice taunted as his figure emerged from the magma.
In the middle of his chest, right where his heart was supposed to be, there was a glowing spot still emanating heat. He passed his hand over the spot and it was gone along with the heat.
Roswaal looked annoyed but he wasted no time as he flew higher into the sky and pulled out his trump card, the Sixfold magic. Creating a spell of each element, he stretched his hand out towards Mairon. He was certain that this will destroy the village too but that would not matter as everything would be back in the next loop.
A second sun appeared above Roswaal's head as he pointed his arm at Mairon. The sun turned into a comet which hurled towards the ground with the strength of the Six Elements.
This time, Mairon raised his hand and in a blink of an eye the sixfold magic was dispelled and its energy absorbed by the One.
"Back in my land…" Mairon spoke calmly as Roswaal stared at him in utter shock. "Magic was not as responsive as it is here, most could not create it out of thin air, it needed a catalyst of sorts of the presence of a certain element that could achieve the result you were looking for. To master it, you would require immense knowledge of the elements even to achieve the smallest of results. But here? Magic is everywhere...in the earth, in the water, in the air and can be manipulated at will. Here it's all a matter of raw power and sheer will over the elements. Your will is strong Roswaal and its reflected in your spell. It pains my heart to see that this will wasted on such a frivolous purpose such as love..."
"How?! That spell cannot be nullified! Even if you disregarded your own life, there would have been no time for you to do so?! How?! Did she tell you?!" Roswaal roared at him angrily.
Mairon sighed. "Your love and your plot to get her back blinded you. You considered me a partner in crime but...I was never on your side. To get me to follow the path you wanted, you accepted everything. You ask me how? The answer is on your finger."
Roswaal widened his eye and immediately removed his glove to see that the ring that Mairon had gifted him was glowing.
"Every spell you casted since you put it on, how to cast them, how to make them, how to unmake them...All of it was sent to mine. I initially planned to fight you fair and square until she noticed that you had grown in power since the last time you saw each other and so..." Mairon said amusedly.
"You provoked me...to see my arsenal of spells...and steal it." Roswaal conluded, dread filling his eyes.
"This game...was rigged from the very first day we met," Mairon revealed before lightning cracked the sky open and its thunder deafened everyone.
Mairon appeared behind Roswaal, levitating before him in the sky as he turned back to face him hurriedly. The Book of Wisdom was in his hands.
"I thought of you as a mastermind, a puppeteer that manipulated everyone to reach his goal and in a way, you were. But you are no mastermind...no, you followed the instructions left by someone else. And this is why your failure is inevitable because a fake mastermind cannot defeat a true one. This show just got boring, it is time for the curtain to fall."
The Book of Wisdom incinerated where it laid in Mairon's hands. Roswaal watched its ashes scatter to the wind before he let out a cry of anguish and furiously cast yet another spell but before he could finish it, lightning struck him.
To the onlookers, from the clouds a tree of electricity spanning miles manifested itself in several flashes. Its roots all converging in one point specifically into one being. The Court Magician.
Roswaal felt his body shocked over and over, he had tried to dispel the attack and even succeeded but when one was neutralized three more spells took its place. When he felt respite, the sky thundered as if it was falling apart. His eyes landed on Mairon's floating figure staring down at him.
The wind began to blow as if a tornado was forming. Mairon's voice could be faintly be heard in it as it grew stronger and stronger.
'Al Goa, Al Huma, Al Dona, Al Fura'
A fire tornado of blades made of wind appeared and immediately sucked Roswaal into it. In it, shards of sediment and ice impacted against the Magician's body which was already cut by the wind blades that left deep gashes on his body.
'Al Shario, Al Minya'
At the base of the tornado, purple crystals formed as the clouds above cleared allowing the stars to be seen. All of them glowed with light as what could only be described as shooting stars began raining into the hellish tornado. An explosion sparked and when the dust cleared, the surrounding mountains and hills were nowhere to be seen… completely razed to the ground.
Roswaal was impaled. The the purple shards of Minya lodged deeply into his hands, thighs, and shoulders. His breathing was fading and his pulse was weakening. Mairon landed in front of him and slowly walked in front of the twisted sculpture of Roswaal's body, slowly placing his hand on his hair.
"Do not worry, he is not dead," he reassured the Witch of Greed whose thoughts he could feel. "I made sure of it."
"How so?" The Witch spoke curiously.
"Look..." He said eyeing the ring on Roswaal's hand.
Slowly but surely, the shrapnel was expelled from his body and his cuts and burns were being healed by the ring he had given the mage.
"Roswaal always has been unable to heal himself...And so you gifted him a ring that could do that?" She observed with a hint of excitement.
"Each ring I make has its uses...just like Roswaal still has his uses...But in the last 400 years he committed various atrocities in your name. Many of those he had wronged wanted to see him punished...and I delivered that punishment." The Bright Lord dispelled the shards and used the Unseen Hand to lay Roswaal on the ground gently.
"This way those who have been wronged will feel vindicated enough...This show was for them, not for me..." the Witch concluded.
Mairon smirked under his helmet. "Perhaps..."
He could feel Echidna's amusement at that reply. For him, she was like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. His eyes turned to the Court Magician once more, he placed his hand on his face and closed his eyes putting his consciousness to sleep as the ring healed him.
He looked around seeing the devastation caused by their fight. Someone will probably have to draw a new map of the area. The forest that was left was still on fire but with a quick wave of his hand, those fires were extinguished.
The fight had surely attracted the Great Rabbit by this point. He had learned of its coming when he received Echidna's knowledge as she included it in the Book of Wisdom she had written. He wasn't particularly worried about it, he had already plans of subjugating it and using it for its intended purpose.
His introspection was interrupted when Ram and Rem came running towards him followed by Garfiel and Lady Ryuzu. Seeing Roswaal laying on the ground like that gave them the wrong idea.
"He's sleeping," he said before any of them could speak.
Rem looked a bit disappointed but not enraged. She felt like she should demand the mage's death but after what she saw and the state of his body, she just couldn't force the words out.
Ram fell on her knees but was caught by her sister mid-fall. Her eyes wandered around in disbelief. "It's over...?"
"There are a few...scraps of his plan that I have to take care of but yes, he will no longer be a threat," the Bright Lord said softly as he got up and walked up to Lady Ryuzu and the two siblings. "Is the village safe? The people probably got scared, my apologies..."
Ryuzu slowly nodded. "A few of them were convinced that Armageddon was upon them but we calmed them down."
"I'm sure they'll forget about it once they find themselves in the luxuries and amenities of Rìs Mindòn," he replied as he walked past Ryuzu.
The small half-elf knew what those words entailed. Sanctuary would be freed, there was no room for argument, it was a fact. And who were they to oppose that statement? None of them came close to Roswaal in terms of power and Mairon had just broken him effortlessly.
The Unseen Hand picked up Roswaal and so Mairon made his way back to Echidna's tomb followed by the others. He approached one of his Silver Knights, the one who carried his important belongings and retrieved what he wanted.
"Rem, come here," he called out calmly. "With your sister."
Rem grabbed Ram's hand and smiled at her to tell her that everything was alright and the two of them approached Mairon who turned around and smiled.
"I shall keep my end of the deal now..."
Rem's eyes lit up. Ram looked between the two of them confused by the statement. The blue oni noticed her sister's confusion and took her hand. "Lord Mairon promised me that he would have helped me restore what you once lost."
Ram looked confused. "But why Rem…? It wasn't your fault."
"Because...Because..." Rem tried speaking but a lump in her throat kept her from letting out the words she wanted to express.
The pink oni placed her hands on Rem's shoulders and brought her into a hug, slowly stroking her hair.
Rem, after so long, and so much pain began sobbing uncontrollably before she broke down entirely, holding on tightly to her sister as she began to speak of how she felt during their childhood and the guilt she felt for being relieved when Ram lost her horn even if it was for just a second.
Mairon observed the two sisters comforting each other, those around them felt moved but he had not changed his thoughts on the matter. For him, all this guilt Rem felt was quite pointless. People think horrible things all the time, so long they don't act upon them, they should not even be bothered by such things. He waited a couple of minutes for them to calm down before approaching them.
He opened his hand revealing a pair of rings, twins but with different gems on them. A ring with a sapphire and another with a pink spinel. He could have simply regenerated Ram's horn but when he saw Ram's abilities in Rem's memories, he realized that the oni was especially powerful and possibly a threat. He chose instead to forge her a ring so that she could achieve her full potential...under his supervision.
Ram stared at the ring before reluctantly putting it on. She felt a shock running through her entire being as if the floodgates of her old power had opened all at once. From her forehead, a glowing horn formed. She felt lightheaded at first but then regained her balance as she looked at the tree line. She extended her arm towards them.
"Al Fura!" She shouted unleashing a torrent of wind blades that cut the trees effortlessly.
She stared at her hand in shock not feeling any sort of tiredness or dizziness as she was used to after casting a spell with her limited storage of mana given her by Roswaal.
Rem clapped excitedly before noticing the second ring and looking at Mairon confused. "My Lord?"
"It is time for you to stop serving as a maid, both of you have far more talent that would be wasted by covering such jobs. Emilia and I spoke of a world where talented people would be rewarded for their efforts. The time to start applying such a notion has come. With your contract as a maid over I now offer you, officially, the possibility of serving as Grand Inquisitors of the Silver Queen's Inquisition. Should you accept this role, upon our return your title shall be communicated to all of the Kingdom making you part of the elite of Rìs Mindòn," he declared, spreading his arms out in a welcoming manner.
Rem and Ram were shocked to hear that. The nlue haired oni immediately knelt in front of the Bright Lord. She had already been working as an Inquisitor of course, but the title had always felt inconsequential. She could command the knights of the Inquisition but she had never felt like a noble. But Mairon's solemn words told her that if she renewed her allegiance now, things would change forever. She could stand beside Lord Mairon and Lady Emilia, perhaps not as an equal, but as a trusted warrior and far closer than than she would have been as a maid.
"It would be an honour for me to be able to serve to cleanse this world of the Witch Cult in your name and the Silver Queen's," Rem declared proudly.
Mairon looked at the other sister, waiting patiently for her answer.
Ram for the first time in so long felt like she had the faculty of choice after having served under Roswaal who had used Rem to gain leverage on her. She saw how her sister didn't even hesitate to accept the offer, her eyes filled with pride and determination. Ram wanted to feel that pride that for so long had eluded her as she endured working as a maid. Ram placed herself next to her sister and kneeled, bowing her head.
"In the name of the Silver Queen, Emilia of Elior, I, Mairon Annatar, the Queen's Knight, hereby confer on you both the title of Grand Inquisitor and all of its privileges and duties. Rise now, leaving your previous life behind, and accept your great future."
Both Rem and Ram raised themselves and both of them looked Mairon in the eyes. Their heads were held high in pride.
Mairon nodded and handed Rem her ring which she graciously accepted before putting it on. Immediately, her senses were boosted, she also felt her magic reserves growing stronger. The Bright Lord then turned around to face the tomb. "Now, we wait..."
Inside the Tomb, Emilia walked steadfastly, she had felt the earth shake but despite her worry, she kept moving forward not looking back. She trusted that Mairon had everything under control, she didn't doubt his safety nor the others'. She had a task to fulfill, everyone was counting on her.
Her surroundings shifted and she found herself in a familiar place. She recognized it, it was the Elior Forest but unlike the one she remembered, this one was not covered in snow. It was green and lush and so full of life. Immediately, her attention was caught by a white-haired woman who was leaning against a tree.
"So you have finally come...Much to my displeasure, you have quite the gall to come here to me, Daughter of the Witch..." The woman spoke in an annoyed tone.
Emilia looked at her with a stoic expression. "You must be the Witch of Greed, Echidna."
Echidna remained unflinching but nodded.
"I do not intend to take much of your time, you don't seem to enjoy my presence and with all due respect, neither do I," Emilia replied walking past her.
Echidna blinked a few times at the girl's reaction shocked that not even being called 'Daughter of the Witch' seemed to faze her. It bothered her but she hid it with a sly remark.
"My my, I thought your knight would have taught you some manners by now..." She taunted.
Emilia kept walking. "Indeed he did, he also taught me to not entertain those who have no respect for me or even useful criticism."
'This girl...' Echidna thoughtsas the two of them reached a big tree that sheltered a house within its trunk.
Emilia and Echidna observed what seemed to be a young Emilia under the protective care of her guardian. An elf named Fortuna. They watched as the woman left the young Emilia in her home for long periods of time in order to make sure that various things were in order. The Witch of Greed raised an eyebrow at the lack of any visible reaction coming from the present Emilia and began looking into her mind.
The queen candidate was feeling very strong emotions but her exterior appearance didn't let it show. While there were very powerful feelings stirring inside of her they were kept chained by a sense of duty.
The two of them followed a young Emilia who used a spirit to go out without Fortuna's knowledge. They watched as the young Half-Elf spectated a meeting between what seemed the Witch Cult and the Elves. Emilia was surprised to see those deranged individuals were calm and collected people once. They heard Fortuna and the leader of the Witch Cult, Geuse, talking about keeping a certain seal safe. That aroused Emilia's interest.
They then followed little Emilia back to her home where she met up with Fortuna once again. Emilia's heart skipped a beat several times especially when Fortuna would treat her younger self with so much love and kindness saying that she had missed her and that she loved her.
"Not even those words are worthy of a tear from you?" Echidna asked crossing her arms.
"The time for tears will come one day, not now. If I start now... I am afraid I will not be able to stop." Emilia spoke solemnly.
Echidna rolled her eyes at her and began walking to their next stop before noticing that Emilia was not moving. "Hmm?"
The Half-Elf seemed to look somewhere in the forest
"Curious about that Seal?" The Witch asked.
Emilia nodded. "Yes...but I'm sure that soon you'll show it to me..."
"Oh? And how would you know it?" Echidna asked.
Emilia's expression turned dark. "Objects that are only talked about in whispers only bring tragedy..."
The Witch slowly nodded, as much as she hated it, Emilia spoke the truth. And so their surroundings changed once again, this time they saw the young Emilia trying to open a door in the middle of the forest which didn't seem to lead anywhere. Emilia immediately understood that the door was the Seal and hoped that her younger self would fail in opening it. Her hopes were met when her younger self failed to open the door and gave up on it. The little half-elf ran into the forest only to come across Geuse and get caught by him. He broke down crying when he saw Emilia's appearance but he made clear he was crying out of happiness. Despite this, young Emilia comforted him.
"Not long ago I wouldn't have been able to accept something like that..." Emilia muttered in front of Echidna.
"Of course, you wouldn't, you needed your knight to hammer that notion into your head didn't you?" She replied shaking her head. "Always depending on him huh?"
"Of course I am, he's my trusted advisor, and I value his opinions very high," Emilia replied calmly.
"There it is, the truth, you are just a filthy woman who clings to parental figures to get her way, disgusting," Echidna said looking at Emilia like she was dirt.
The Half-Elf remained calm even after being insulted like that. "Mairon is my mentor and he taught me a valuable lesson. Asking for help is not something someone should be ashamed of. He told me that there is no nobler thing than recognizing my inability to achieve something especially if I already tried many times. Before I met him I was...weak and incredibly lonely. I had great ideals but a few comments about my appearance would have been enough to silence me. I was scared of the Royal Selection, of meeting my rivals."
Echidna listened silently but her expression did not change.
"Mairon came and offered his help. He could have taken matters into his hands, have me take the backseat and conquered the throne for me...but instead, he chose to teach me how to be better. He taught me to be proud of who I am, he turned my weaknesses into strengths so that I may be able to stand proud on my own. He would probably be disappointed in me if I began to leech off someone. I am sorry for you if you think someone's help is equal to leeching off them...but should you change your mind, I would gladly help you," Emilia concluded with a gentle smile.
Echidna looked incredibly angered by that last comment. Being pitied was not something she was expecting. She turned away from the girl next to her and went to look back at the memories. Emilia noticed that Echidna would not reply to her and so returned to focus on the trial.
Young Emilia was playing catch with Fortuna and Guese with the latter being completely exhausted. Her adoptive mother and the Archbishop began exchanging a few words...it was clear they had a certain chemistry. The conversation took a more serious tone when Fortuna tricked Little Emilia into being caught, she had the little girl apologise for sneaking out of her room and then made her understand that promises are important. Young Emilia seemed to feel guilty enough to start crying but Fortuna comforted her and once she did, she asked Emilia to return to her room and promised that she will be even able to see Geuse again.
Emilia smiled seeing the three of them so happy but she saw Echidna's eyes shifting somewhere else. "Someone is coming..."
The future queen looked where Echidna was looking and saw a white-haired young man wearing white robes. The situation quickly fell into chaos as Fortuna immediately took a defensive stance along with Geuse and inquired who that person was. After a few exchanges, the man introduced himself as the Archbishop of Greed, Regulus Corneas.
Hearing that, Emilia instinctively reached for her swords but she stopped, remembering that this was the past. She could not change it. Then a small girl with long white hair and blue eyes showed herself behind Regulus shocking both Fortuna and Geuse. Fortuna had the most aggressive reaction to her screaming the girl's name, Pandora, before launching a barrage of ice blades and burying both her and Regulus in ice. But it was to no avail as Regulus broke the ice easily. Geuse told Fortuna to run away with Emilia while he keeps Regulus back. After some hesitation, Fortuna obliged and left.
"This is your trial, you should be following yourself, shouldn't you?" Echidna commented.
"Just a few more moments," Emilia said, watching in horror as Geuse forced himself to absorb the Witch Factor of Sloth to fight off Regulus.
"Let's go," Emilia muttered as Echidna took them back to the tree that housed young Emilia's room.
The duo watched as a young Emilia begged Fortuna to not leave telling her that she was going to be a good girl and never leave her room again. The little girl's pleas caused Fortuna to hug her. Softly she told her how much she loved her. Echidna thought that showing Emilia this would have made her fail.
The Half-Elf looked at her old self and her adoptive mother clenching her fist, her armoured fingertips almost digging into her palm. A steady stream of tears fell down her cheeks but she didn't speak a single word as her body shook with emotions.
Echidna felt her grief, her sadness, and her love for the woman who took care of her...but just as those emotions stirred the half-elf's being something else grew stronger and stronger. Determination, anger, hatred, fury.
Emilia stared at the scene wiping away her tears as another elf, Arch, came running. They discussed how the people of the village were fighting the attackers and how Fortuna should run away with Emilia. The woman shook her head and instead ordered Arch to carry Emilia to safety, he could not defy her order and obliged.
Young Emilia hopped on Arch's back still crying as the two of them headed for the exit of the forest. The little girl voiced her regret of having left her room thinking that all of this was her fault. Arch denied such statements telling her that she was a good girl but his speech was interrupted when his leg got caught by something. The Kurokebi, the Black Snake, had seemingly appeared and brought its deadly poisons and curses to the chaos. Arch amputated his leg in an attempt to stop the spread but it was to no avail. With no choice left, he instructed Emilia to run towards the flowers and keep on going.
Reluctantly and in tears Young Emilia obliged leaving Arch to perish...but she did not run away from the forest. Instead, she followed a spirit until she was once again at the big door. There Pandora appeared and began speaking sweet words into her ear trying to get her to open the door for her in exchange for the safety of the village. But the child refused saying that she would not break her promise with Fortuna.
Emilia was happy to see that her young self had stayed loyal to her adoptive mother even in front of such a terrible foe.
It was then that Fortuna and Geuse appeared together attacking Pandora. The Elf was surprised to see Emilia there and stood in front of her in a protective manner. It would have seemed that Regulus had been dealt with, Emilia had followed her younger self so she didn't see how...
Fortuna and Geuse launched a combined attack against the Witch of Vainglory but something went terribly wrong...as Geuse's attack punched a hole in Fortuna's chest. Without a shadow of doubt, Pandora had done something to him. The man brought his hands to his head as he realized what he had done and immediately started breaking down and descending into madness as Pandora began whispering to him words of twisted love.
The Silver Queen watched the gut-wrenching scene not with tears, unbeknownst to her, her expression had twisted into a snarl, and her grief and sadness were overpowered by her wrath and hatred.
Those feelings were mirrored by her younger self that after bidding her last farewell to Fortuna, picked up her hairpin and wore it. Pandora kept asking her to open the seal but the only thing that she gained for such a request was getting exploded into blood and ice, impaled, frozen and broken, crushed between two crystals and more.
The younger Emilia's voice was dead cold as she demanded that Pandora die. Everything around her was slowly being consumed by ice, even her own body. Pandora gave up with her request and began speaking nonsense to Young Emilia before sealing away her memories and leaving, taking the now insane Geuse with her. And so the child had used her power to freeze over the forest and herself.
"And that is your past," Echidna said sighing turning to see Emilia's expression once more expecting her to be in some sort of shock.
The Half-Elf's expression had turned solemn, her eyes still showed some of that aggressiveness but it was not overflowing like before.
"So do you have any regrets?" Echidna asked.
Emilia turned to face her. "What regrets? Regretting having left my room? Don't tell me you think that Pandora wouldn't have come if I didn't. Regrets over not saving Geuse and Mom? They were far more skilled and trained than me, a child like me wouldn't have had any chance against Greed or Pandora."
"You froze everyone in here, all the elves of the village. So many died to protect you." Echidna pointed out crossing her arms.
"That is true, I did freeze the forest...A reckless and extreme move that no one would make...unless they were a child and in extreme grief...I do not blame my old self for this, hers was an act out of desperation. But I will still take responsibility for it and I will find a way to free everyone."
Echidna looked incredibly annoyed at that replied and huffed and puffed as she shook her head.
"But I have to thank you...Now I understand how it feels to be a victim of the cult myself. Until now, I had taken it upon myself to hunt them down only because they were a possible danger to my people and privately because I resented being compared to the Jealous Witch. I promised myself and Mairon that we would have stopped all of this...this..." She began searching for the right word. "Waste of lives! Of talent! Now I know how it feels personally, this needless suffering has to end and I will see to it!"
Echidna bit her lip at that and the world around began to fade out into an empty whiteness.
Emilia found herself back in the corridors of the tomb, she brought her hand to her chest and her expression twisted with grief and pain as she began to sob and cry, using the wall to support herself. "I love you...mom..." She whispered to herself.
The Silver Queen raised her head seeing the door which would have led her to the second trial. She could have gone back and informed Mairon and perhaps rest, but she wanted to come out of the tomb only when her mission was accomplished. With newfound determination, she pushed herself off the wall and walked into the second room. Her vision faded to black.
The Half-Elf felt something tugging on her hair and when she opened her eyes she found herself sitting at a table...in her old room back at Elior Forest. She turned around and saw Fortuna combing her hair, the woman noticed her gaze and smiled.
"Is something wrong?"
"No… it's just that today you are very beautiful," Emilia replied causing Fortuna to smile as she returned to fixing her hair.
"There you go all done!" She proclaimed as Emilia got up to look herself in the mirror.
Emilia was expecting to see herself in her normal dress but was surprised to see her silver armor and helm covering her body. She blinked and the image vanished. Before she could say anything else someone knocked on the door. Fortuna went to open it and Geuse appeared behind it.
Emilia was so happy to see the two together and after a brief exchange that ended with a flustered Fortuna, the three of them departed for a picnic by the lake. On the way there Fortuna kept being flustered as she was called especially beautiful which only worsened when a trio of villagers described the three of them as a happy family. After finally reaching the lake, they placed their things on the ground and enjoyed the morning and each other's company. But from the corner of her eye, Emilia could see the same amoured figure she saw in the mirror waiting.
"I know I know..." She muttered, taking one last good look at Fortuna and Geuse before excusing herself and leaving the two of them.
She walked towards a hill just above the lake, she saw Geuse and Fortuna talking to each other happily before hearing the clinging sound of armour. She turned around and saw it waiting there. Herself. Before she could say anything to it, Arch stepped in front of her in a protective manner.
"Lady Emilia step back! I'll take care of this, don't worry!" He shouted.
Emilia smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder setting him to the side. "It's okay brother...We both know it's not here to hurt me."
Arch sighed. "If you go with it, you'll have to give up all of this, you'll return to the cruel world, you'll have to face many challenges, and you will suffer a so much."
"This world is a beautiful lie Arch... but I have a duty to return to," Emilia said sadly. She walked to the armoured figure and offered it her hand.
The being took her hand and disappeared, and in a ray of light Emilia's clothes were replaced by her resplendent armour as she walked to Arch and hugged him. "Thank you for protecting me...but you can rest now. I will be okay..."
Arch nodded and patted her head. "Alright...Good luck Emilia..."
Emilia approached the edge of the hill waving Fortuna and Geuse goodbye before letting herself fall into the lake. The world faded to black once more.
The Half-Elf found herself back in the room of the second trial sighing in relief. It wasn't as bad as the first one...actually, it was quite easy. The moment she had opened her eyes; she had known that reality was false. She noticed her ring glowing like a star and a smile crossed her face as she looked ahead to the last door. With absolute determination, she marched ahead and entered the last room.
The space around her began to twist once and the girl found herself in an endless darkness then from the horizon, a shower of stars began passing by and suddenly Emilia was...
The Half-Elf panted heavily as she found herself on her knees using her sword to keep herself from falling to the ground, she felt incredibly tired as if she had been training for the entire day...then she noticed that she was not standing on grass...or stone...
Emilia raised her eyes and saw that she was standing on a pile of bodies. Soldiers bearing the insignia of Vollachia. Confusion immediately washed over her as she looked around only to see what she could only describe as hell on earth.
A sea of bodies as far as the eyes could see, charred banners of Vollachia and Lugnica being torn apart by an unforgivable wind. The sky was red and white ash rained down on the battlefield. Emilia tried to get up but lost her balance and fell to the ground, rolling down the pile of bodies only to find herself staring at Rem...dead.
The former maid had dried up tears of blood, arrows piercing her neck, and her armour was charred like it had been burnt by fire magic. Emilia immediately tried to shake her to get a response but gave up when Rem's dead eyes met with hers. She bit her lips and slowly closed the oni's eyes.
Emilia finally managed to get up and limped her way across the battlefield passing by various broken siege machines before she stepped on something hard, it clanged against her boots with a metallic groan. She looked down and saw an entire platoon of Silver Knights completely broken with some sort of particles of light oozing out of their armours. She tried to call them before realizing that the spirits inside the armour were also dead. The cheerful and eager spirits that had so happily come to help her, all gone.
She continued to wander the field looking for any of her friends but slowly, one after the other, she found them dead. Crusch was in a sea of bodies of knights and earth dragons, Ram had been impaled, Frederica had been decapitated...but no matter how much she looked for him, she could not find him.
"Mairon!" She cried out to the sky before looking down at her ring. "Mairon! Can you hear me! Mairon!"
The ring that until now had emanated a powerful light was lifeless, its light nowhere to be seen. She widened her eyes when the ring began to crack right in front of her eyes before completely breaking off and turning into ash. She fell on her knees and tears started flowing out of her eyes as she felt lonely again, desperate, overwhelmed...
Echidna appeared in front of her with her arms crossed with a smug smile on her face.
Emilia was gasping for hair when suddenly she heard someone behind her, she turned around only to see some Silver Knights kneeling, finishing up from killing any enemy survivors. She stared at them and then back to the battlefield realizing something...the battle had been won, a pyrrhic victory for sure, but still a victory. She pulled herself up and looked at Echidna.
"If I still breathe...I still have a duty to perform, only in death does my duty end," Emilia whispered.
Echidna raised an eyebrow. "So long as everyone else dies you are fine with it then?"
"OF COURSE NOT!" Emilia shouted back at her surprising the Witch. "BUT I WOULD DISAPPOINT THEM IF I GAVE UP EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF THIS! THEY LAID THEIR LIVES HERE! MAYBE I EVEN ORDERED THEM TO DO SO! I HAVE TO KEEP ON GOING! BECAUSE IF I STOP NOW! IF I STOP NOW THEIR SACRIFICES WILL BE IN VAIN! NOT JUST THEIRS BUT MY MOTHER'S AND GEUSE'S! SO KEEP YOUR COMMENTS TO YOURSELF!"
"H-hey calm down now..." Echidna muttered about ending the trial when she felt her ring pulsating.
The Witch frowned but decided to go with it out of curiosity and so she snapped her fingers.
The scenery changed once again but was not terrible, quite the opposite. The two of them were standing in a square in front of a massive white palace which seemed to touch the sky. Its coloured glass windows cast a rainbow of shadows upon. Massive tree branches stretched into the sky beside the palace. Two trees, one golden and one silver, each bigger than the Flugel Tree towered over the building.
They turned around and saw that the square was actually on an elevated plane as its borders had marble railings to keep people from falling. Below them a massive white city with golden rooftops sprawled for miles on end. Emilia did not recognize the city; it was not Lugnica City. She looked around confused and she approached the railings before a booming sound caused her to recoil. Fireworks shot up into the sky and exploded. She saw the main roads filled with parades of Silver Knights who were marching to the sound of drums and music as people threw flowers at their feet.
Emilia and Echidna turned around and decided to enter the palace in front of them but not before observing its gothic and baroque architecture. Both of them were stunned when they laid their eyes on a 15-meter-tall statue of Mairon in his armour seemingly standing guard at the entrance. At the statue's feet, there appeared to be offerings of food, gold, incense, myrrh and other goods.
Emilia took one quick look at the statue before walking past it and remaining in absolute awe as the massive palace presented itself to her. The floor was made of marble which was so clean and shiny one could see their own reflection on it. The entire place was divided into aisles by massive pillars that connected the floor to the ceiling that stood tall and high them. Emilia was shocked to see that on the ceiling there were beautiful paintings depicting what seemed to be important events...she was left flabbergasted when she saw that the killing of the White Whale was among them.
But Emilia quickly understood what place they have found themselves in as the central aisles acted as a corridor to what was in fact a throne. Said throne had two sets of stairs leading to it and on its sides, there were a few 'lesser' thrones probably meant for the other government officials. The two of them spotted a woman sitting on it and as soon as their eyes laid on her form, she raised her head.
The woman got up revealing herself to them as she began to move to get closer. She was tall and one could tell that beneath her attire there was quite a curvaceous and mature body. She had a white mantle on her shoulders with a fur collar that wrapped around her neck.
Below said mantle there was a beautiful armour with countless engravings and glyphs, it was bigger than Emilia's but it seemed to be of the same material as both sets shone with the light of the stars. The armour was accompanied by purple clothes...and a crown of silver roses that rested on the woman's head. Her long silver hair and purple eyes met with Emilia's who was frozen in place in an instant as tears began crossing her cheeks and her heart beat so fast that it was deafening.
The woman looked at Echidna but the Witch instinctively broke eye contact and stared at the ground. She approached the duo and while she was in full armour, none of her steps were heard.
She stopped a few inches away from Emilia, towering over her, her expression was serene but her eyes showed pure strength and her movements were absolutely elegant. She looked at Emilia's armour and a melancholic smile seemed to cross her lips as she raised her hands and placed them on one of the straps of the armour and began to tighten them up. Her movements showed great familiarity with those straps. She then grabbed what seemed to be a handkerchief and Emilia saw her own ring on the woman's hand before she gently wiped away her tears before leaning into her ear.
"Not yet."
Her voice was deep, ethereal, intimidating while at the same time comforting...and it was the last thing uttered before the world faded to black.
Hold it! I just want to tell you my dear readers that I used an AI to show how the characters of this story look like, you can find them on my twitter that you can find by simply looking up Ubimarv