Mizuchi, the water dragon, rose to the surface and stepped out onto the land. And saw her tiny form standing by herself. Alone in her solitude, a stone-like doll walked along the valley's edge, picking up stones and stacking them. Behind her were more small columns of stones. She hummed a soft, haunting tune, or more like murmuring words. The stone stacks quaked as she hummed. Moving in time with her whispers. She stopped, slowly turning her head. "is it done?" she asked.
"it is done, Grenda," Mizuchi answered.
Grenda's distant dark eyes stilled as sadness covered them. Her brother was dead. And even though it meant she would be free to live as she wanted. She'd hoped Mizuchi might have been able to convince him, even though it was a long shot, to persuade him to change his ways.
The daughter of Grendock, the shattered one, held her hand out, and a stone jumped into the palm. And she placed it on a stack. Though imposing for a stone troll, Grenda stood relatively small, her height measured in mere meters. Her body, built of solid, resilient stone, covered in rough, weathered grayish-brown hues that blended well with the surrounding rocks. Her eyes glimmered in ambers entwined in dark black. They would've shined like red stars in the night sky if she had smiled.
Mizuchi could always tell when she was happy and when she was sad. Today, they held the darkness of sorrow. Her long tangled mossy hair fell to her back and shoulders, adding to her enigmatic allure. Quite fetching for a female stone troll. Which, if truth be told, there were very hard to find. She tapped the top of the stack with her stone-gnarled hands, ensuring her sharp and sturdy claws did not touch them for fear of crushing or splitting them. In her other hand, she held a large red stone. A bloodstone. The same stone, once nestled inside her father's chest. The same stone she had taken after Grommok zealously killed his own father.
She was now using it to bring the stacks to life. She whispered names to each stack, an incantation that breathed existence into these formations. The bloodstone's power, bound to her lineage, coursed through her, animating the stone with ethereal energy. A somber tribute to her father's memory.
"Will you be going now?" Grenda asked. Her voice carried an undercurrent of somber certainty. Unfazed, she continued her ritual, coaxing the stones to her bidding. Large boulders rolled and stopped before her, while others jumped and settled atop the growing stack.
"Yes," Mizuchi replied, her gaze lingering on the stone bridge and the deep scar etched across the land, a testament to the unfolding tumultuous events. A small smirk fluttered across Grenda's face. Years hiding together had honed her skills, learning the tells in Mizuchi expressions.
"Do you wish me to seal the abyss?" Grenda's stone stacks stretched along the ridge as she peered down into the valley below. "it will be safer if I do. Just in case."
Mizuchi weighed the offer, contemplating the memories that would forever be etched within her, regardless of the abyss's fate. She shrugged, "the memories will always be there."
"Memories are always carved in stone," Grenda mused. Her words, tinged with an air of ancient wisdom. It was hard for Mizuchi to believe Glenda was only five hundred years old. Very young for a stone troll.
As she raised her hand, she commanded the valley to quake, and the waters rushed out of the depths of the abyss and spread across the molten stone. The stone bridge groaned, then tumbled and exploded. Shattered pieces rained down and splashed in the spreading water.
Mizuchi watched as the stone bridge disappeared as the valley healed itself. Bearing witness, the true power of the daughter of Grendock, welded. Without a word, Grenda turned her gaze toward the remaining remnants of the railgun, like an unfinished riverbed. Looking across in the distance, she held out her hands and hummed. The earth shook, stone trembled, and a new stone bridge burst from the ground, stretching over the valley. Thick, massive stone columns supported the imposing spillway connecting both sides of the valley's ridge with a show of supernatural might.
Grenda's smirk betrayed a touch of pride as she spoke. Her words laced with confidence and nostalgia. " It will be as before." She declared, envisioning the transformation that lay ahead. "a beautiful marsh with trees, vegetation, and clean water…" pausing momentarily. "Oh, and a very nice bridge to walk along. a warm, soft reddish tone colored her cheeks.
The water that had remained waited on the edge of the riverbed, surging and receding. Excitement fills each wave. Mizuchi waved her hand, and it flowed over the stone bridge, spilling water and plant debris over its edge.
The stacks had taken the shape of stone trolls that stood on the valley's edge, awaiting Grenda's command. She nodded, and they descended into the valley, venturing into the rising waters to harvest the tree pods and other river vegetation.
Mizuchi raised her hand, and with a subtle gesture, she slipped seamlessly into the water around her feet, vanishing from sight. And in her wake, a giant eel-like dragon emerged from the water's surface, its scales shimmering with otherworldly brightness. With a mighty leap, she landed gracefully in the waters and crossed the newly formed bridge. And silently disappeared into the horizon.
Grenda gracefully moved from the ridge, stepping into the rising waters that now flooded the valley. Tree pods of varying sizes floated and bobbed around her. As the stone trolls gathered them up and crushed them in their hands. Tiny seeds scattered and swirled through the air, finding their resting places along the water's edge. The seeds sprouted with a touch of Grenda's ancient magic, turning the once barren edge into a lush expanse of verdant greens. Small vines snaked around the stone columns of the bridge and burst into brightly colored flowers. Seedlings sprouted, turning into trees that took root in the water like mangroves and reached for the sky. And among the burgeoning foliage, tiny aquatic creatures darted gracefully, finding a new home with the once lifeless valley.
Grenda's touch was subtle. Just enough to give a little foreshadowing of what had been and what was to come. Her smile grew radiant as the twin suns climbed higher into the sky. Her amber eyes shimmered with a bright light, reflecting the elemental beauty that would rival the heavens above.
"I hope to meet this Mikoto Misaka." Grenda spoke softly, her words filled with excitement and anticipation, "And I will let her daughter know her father and mother are well."