· · · · · · ·
Luna's absurd dream reflection of Siephied stood on fire. Anything that had looked vaguely like a cute plushie had either rotted or scorched away. Its wings had grown wide and skeletal, feathered because Filia knew Siephied to have those, yet they leaned towards armor when Luna arrived.
Arrived was perhaps too abrupt. Dream time allowed one to have been there all along.
"Woah, my subconscious is nuts," Luna said. "I need those wings. Lyos figured out flight, I should be able to do that too."
"You're here. I can give you the memories of when Claire tried teaching me to fly in human form. She had a few methods," Filia said, not taking her eyes off the sky. "Was that all the reason you wanted to come here?"
"No, it's that. Can you talk to it?"
Filia nodded. "Luna Above, why are you silent?"
"BECAUSE ALL LUNAS ARE. MY LOUSY SELF IS SORRY THAT I ATTACKED VALGAAV BECAUSE I WAS TOO ARROGANT TO THINK THINGS THROUGH AND TOO EGOISTIC TO PASS UP A CHANCE FOR TORTURE."
"Okay, capacity for guilt confirmed. Good to know," Luna said. "So how much guilt?"
The thing didn't reply.
"I don't believe guilt is anything that can be measured well," Filia said.
"Yeah, except you did that when Valgaav —"
The scene shifted to dark tunnels, blocking out the sky and the light. In nightmares, Filia's years of practice in self control did not matter. She screamed.
Luna put a hand on her arm, which stopped the sound but also had Filia lash out.
It'd just hurt.
Val and Xelloss already had. This was dream fact, and it didn't immediately sink in it wasn't true.
Luna stepped back, hands up.
"Don't. Don't touch me," Filia whispered.
"I'm not ... okay."
"I DO NOT ENJOY HURTING PEOPLE FOR THEIR SUFFERING SO MUCH AS I LIKE THE SENSATION OF POWER," Luna Above thundered somewhere out of sight.
"Either my core self is just like me or that's not quite my core self," Luna said. "Look, maybe we should drop the me topic and do something about you. Like, you've got your bad boy trying to take over the world again, and—"
"GLOBAL DOMINATION IS TOO MUCH OF A HASSLE."
"This was a bad idea," Luna said.
"Likely," Filia said.
"DO NOT LEAVE ME ALONE."
"Oh no no no, dammit. That's part of the feeling I'm cutting away? Come on! If I end up alone it's cause I alienated everyone. I don't want to care for that, it's weakness."
"WEAKNESS IS FRIGHTENING."
Filia tried very hard not to agree out loud with what Luna's monster said.
"Miss Luna, last time we shared dreams, your subconscious wasn't about to reveal this kind of thing. Did something happen?"
"I just realized a few small things about astral powers and me, no big deal. That thing isn't really me, just some silly isolated part."
"WHAT IF I AM ME?"
The scene changed to the Zephyrian court. A throne rose below the specter in the sky, from which the Eternal Queen declared how holiness does not elevate anyone above their mortal weakness. Before her, Luna was a child. The child Luna looked trapped and small, but Luna Above laughed.
"I BET SHE SAW I WAS ALREADY DEAD."
Filia instinctively bent down to hold the child, but Luna pushed her away, turning into a dragon : a skeletal Siephied.
The Zephyrian court blew away in the wind of Luna's beating wings. Along with that, the world shifted, leaving only holy flow.
It brought them to a burning town and another mind.
"What did you do?" Filia asked Luna, who stood before her as calm a human as ever, arms crossed.
"Brought us to another mind for a diversion. Got myself some lessons from Claire."
Somewhere in the dark, a group of reptilians hunted down one of their own, leaving him to die in the mud.
Valgaav appeared, smirking and with an offer.
"Do you want revenge?"
"Of course I do."
"Then I'll claim your life."
Gravos's mind. Gratitude, salvation, a new goal in life. In Gravos's memory, strength and loyalty mattered, and to him Valgaav looked glorious.
It wasn't how Filia had imagined it. In her mind, Gravos left out the kinder parts, like Valgaav bending down to help him first.
The flow turned once more.
"Why this?" Luna asked.
Gravos grew fur and his form changed. Before Filia could even comment on it, the dream scenery changed to another mind again.
This time, a village burned.
Only a few still lived, Jillas among them. Pierced with an arrow and also missing an eye, he cried out wordlessly.
Valgaav pulled the arrow out and stood straight, staring down at Jillas with a smirk on his face. The town burned all around them, the scent of burning flesh all the sharper because the memory of Jillas was involved.
Valgaav didn't say anything this time. He just ... expected to get loyalty, and he did. Still smirking while surrounded by genocide. Somehow, this massacre didn't inspire him with blinding rage.
He hadn't really lost anything, after all.
In the orange flames of the nearest house, a little girl with matching hair hid. She herself burned, yet managed to cry tears that didn't vaporize.
"Doesn't that hurt?" Filia asked.
The small Lina looked up with fearful eyes. "Not as much as when my sister finds me."
"Luna, where are you?" Filia called, finally finding her anger.
Right then, the house burned up, and the flow led her a third time.
She'd seen the next place before during her visit to Zephyria.
The pristine little town bathed in sunlight and happy farmers worked hard on their harvest, but at the edge of the road lay a dull green hybrid of troll and werewolf. He looked starved and poorly regenerated.
Fresh off of work, Luna walked by without acknowledging Filia. Or rather, a memory of Luna. The real one wasn't near.
Luna made some earth spirits carry him to her house, put a chain on him and saved him for for only a less deadly fate.
His dream has less details of his own, with Luna filling in the blanks with her own memories. It made for a distorted experience, because her cold efficiency clashed with the despair and hunger of the hybrid.
Something moved inside the doghouse that had sprung within a blink. Filia leaned in to see through the door.
Luna sat inside, around her neck the chain Zelas had once put there. The end hung loose and she fumbled with it. "Luna?"
"My subconscious did this. I wasn't supposed to show you anything. I guess that's how it talks to me."
Filia crawled in and sat next to her. "What are you doing in here?"
"I'm just thinking," Luna said. "I probably don't really know what I want."
"Why not just accept all those feelings you're missing? Maybe you can learn to shut down the negativity purification," Filia asked. It felt wrong, because she herself would like to have it on. Permanently. Knowing it'd not really remove the source of the emotions only barely put a dent in that wish.
"Why? I can't take back the past," Luna said. "There's no point getting caught up in feeling guilt. I'm not you and don't want to be."
"What happened?"
"Nothing," Luna said. "I told you. "Absolutely nothing."
"THAT IS THE EXACT PROBLEM," Luna Above thundered with a little lightning thrown in.
"Don't worry about it. It's not life threatening and didn't break me."
"I BROKE MYSELF LONG AGO."
"Okay, enough of this," Luna said as she shoved Filia out of the dream. "Last thing you need is another person for your collection of broken things."
· · · · · · ·
"Gunmoll?" Jillas shook her shoulder so hard, she could feel his frantic grip through the thick sheets.
Filia forced her eyes open to a gorgeous, high class room in white gauze, marble and hideous devil magic.
"I'm awake," she said.
"Can I do anything? Should I go make some tea? I'll go make some tea. Miss Sylphi—"
"Jillas, stop," she whispered. "Please."
His ears flattened in defeat, so she forced a smile and got up.
"We should've brought you a change of clothes," he said. "Want my cloak?"
She peered down at her dress, torn and dirty as it was, and shook her head. "It's not too cold. Where is mister Gravos?"
"He went out to get some wood. Luna left too, said something about trying to fly since Lyos could do it."
Oh, right. She'd seen a glimpse of him after everyone teleported here, he'd been under some sort of curse. He must still be around ... but where would everyone else be?
What would happen now?
Physically, she was whole. Sailoonian healing magic was miraculous, working even when holy magic did not. In the middle of the demon infested mountain, it had saved lives.
The only signs that anything had happened were the stiffness of her hands and shoulder, and the hair Valgaav had snitched off. The remaining strands hung around her unevenly.
She had the idea she should cut it to be even, to forget, but she couldn't muster the energy.
That was ridiculous. She had the energy, it shouldn't feel like it was too much.
"Where is everyone?"
"The Sailoon people went back to Sailoon, but Orun's still here. There's gonna be some sort of council soon when Sailoon's back. Do you wanna go?"
The answer didn't spring to mind at once, like she was used to. Did she ...
... probably not. She'd hear the results later, as usual. Zelgadis and Orun knew more than others, if anything went on the table now, she'd rather hear from them than the wolf devils.
She would like to check on Lyos, though.
"Can you smell the way to the sea, mister Jillas?"
"You bet, gunmoll."
Overcautious, Jillas didn't merely lead her, he also made sure the path there was as flat as possible. This involved copious use of small bombs. Another time Filia might have objected. Now she just walked.
From above, childlike wails came, but Filia refused to look. Jillas too kept his snout firmly ahead.
Only once they left the morbid forest did they look around. For all the dark magic on the island, the sea was as almost normal, save for the rapid tides. A black yellow sunrise streaked the east, the rest of the sky was a matted grey with a few breaks. The stars were too dim.
The beach contained mostly rocky, black volcanic stones with patches of sand. Nearby, these rocks had been pushed to form a ring that kept water in.
Claire drifted here, her part middle aged human and more mermaid than ever. Lyos lay at the center in fetal position on an elevation, most of his skin now returned to human smoothness.
On the peak of rocks closest to the shore, Orun danced with the rising of the waves. It brought in the flow, almost like a beacon.
"Hey, how's he doin'?" Jillas asked. "Can't get rid of that spell?"
Orun shook her head. "No, but we can make it lessen. Claire can explain better, I'm sure."
On cue, Claire surfaced. "I'm teaching him to project, so he'll need less flesh."
"Eh ... you get any of that, gunmoll?" Jillas asked.
"It's like taking the cannon apart to be able to clean the pieces better," she said, hollow and mechanic. "He will be alright if she succeeds."
Claire nodded. There was no clear expression on her face, which was nothing new, yet she looked more inhuman than ever.
She had to care, though, if she made all this effort to keep Lyos painless. There was a rolled up blanket below his head, and she softly shook his shoulder to wake him.
"Hello, mister Lyos," she said. "How are you?"
"Don't worry, Filia. I'll get better, you'll get better, and then we'll go —" He curled up again, eyes wide and hands going to his mouth. Something red dropped out of his mouth. Claire absentmindedly flicked it out of the cove and rolled Lyos onto his back again.
"Concentrate," she said.
"Lyos, if you're trying to make a heroic speech, you should know that Lina Inverse is probably going to top you whenever she returns to this universe," Filia said, forcing a smile. He'd be alright, at least. She'd also be alright, and Val ...
Lyos faked being irritated and rapped his fingers on a shell. "Damnit, you're right. Lina's always stealing my thunder ... let's hope she does it soon."
What she wouldn't give for Lina Inverse to be back in the world.
It was the thunder of the other Inverse they got instead.
A few trees flew out of the forest and dropped into the ocean. Seconds later, Luna crashed out of the greenery. The specter of armored bird wings was on her back, but they faded as she pummeled to a halt on the rocks.
Filia couldn't help but remember Val's earliest flight lessons, which were no more eloquent. Luna's eyes were hidden as usual, but her mouth was drawn in a grim line as she stood up and dusted off.
"How's he doing?" Luna asked as she climbed on the rock ring.
"Still the same," Claire said, closing her eyes and very pointedly averting her face. Filia thought they must have talked before, and it hadn't gone well.
"You still going ahead with this, Lyos?"
He nodded at Luna. "Absolutely."
"Did I miss something?" Filia asked.
"Court between Zelas and Claire," Luna snorted. "Current plans are to reconquer Har Megiddo or Elmegiddo or whatever."
Filia felt herself nodding as the information drifted past her.
"Aaaand we're gonna need back the two talismans that Valgaav stole. I don't like how she wants that done."
"They are our only shot at communicating with Lina, may aid in getting her back and she will need all the help she can get for the final goal," Claire said.
"Oh, nice. You're still not telling me what that goal is," Luna sneered.
"I heard something : Zelas said her final goal may be at odds with Lina. I asked them whether they want to recreate Siephied too, Xelloss at least doesn't think so. He also claims Siephied would not want to. Either way, I do think they're trying to create something," Filia said.
"Hmm. You think I'll be flipping out over it?"
"I don't know."
"We've got a crisis of not knowing things." Luna spat on the rocks. "If it were something I could physically do she could just lock me up. Gotta be something I could tell Rangort."
Claire just shrugged.
"It'll be fine," Lyos said.
"Life law circles are a thing," Luna said. "You being manipulated is plausible."
Lyos rolled his eyes. "Look, if it's any help, Claire and I are gonna bail soon. We're not all aboard with Zelas right now."
Now Claire had expression, in particular that of frustration. "That was meant as a secret!"
"They're our friends, okay? Well, my friends anyway. Anything I can tell them will be good. Get used to it, I'm keeping that trait."
"Go where?" Jillas asked.
"I'd like Elmegiddo before Zelas gets a foot on the ground, and I'd like a better communication with my dragons."
"Elmegiddo?" Jillas asked. "I keep hearing different names for the place."
"Tel al-Metaliom is the codeword Zelas used for the project as a whole, Har Megiddo made up on the spot when Dolphin and the others found it. I prefer Elmegiddo, the Megiddo of the deities," Claire said.
"It needs another name altogether," Lyos groaned. "Anyway, we're going there once Zelas and you two are gone, so she can't catch us."
"What?" Jillas snapped. "We didn't agree to go anywhere!"
Filia was more grateful than ever that Jillas was willing to snap at people on her behalf.
"Not you, Jillas. Filia and I have been drafted to visit Dynast's island," Luna said, resentment dripping off every word.
Claire wanting to go talk to dragons. Something had happened to give both Luna and her a change of mind. Filia needed to know, but she'd long grown accustomed to being denied information. She didn't ask.
"Filia, Luna, no offense, but you two feel awful," Lyos said. "Can you get that miasma off elsewhere?"
"Oh ... I'm sorry," Filia said as she turned to leave. Luna lingered for a second, then followed Filia in silence.
At the edge of the forest, Luna asked, "Did you look up yet?"
"I won't."
"Why don't we fly back? You can transform here, and there's a spot where you can land near the mansion. It'll be quicker."
Luna unfolded a set of scaly birdlike wings, extensions of her astral body. Siephied had softer feathers, but in form they resembled the images she had seen of the oldest god. How casually Luna used his remains.
"How do dragons fly anyway? How important are aerodynamics?"
Filia shook her head. "It doesn't matter much, we weigh so much most of our lift is by magic. We have an energy balance core within."
"Fabricate energy balance core, that'll do for take 2."
While Luna experimented with defying gravity, Filia transformed and let Jillas climb on her back. It took Luna another five minutes to just levitate without spinning head down. Once she got a gravity center aligned with her magic, she stayed upright.
Flight was ... acceptable. As long as she went in a straight line. It would've been nice if Filia could be amused now.
· · · · · · ·
At Zelas's castle, devil chimeras and regular chimera crowded around in tension. They saw Dilgear there, and Luna vanished for a moment.
Xelloss appeared at her side; Filia backed away.
"Miss Filia, I do hope you won't act like that where we are going?"
With a scowl, she turned her back on him. "Don't you worry. I won't fail my son."
"I've been told he's not real," Xelloss said. Still that godawful tone like he discussed the weather. Ha. I've been told it won't be sunshine.
"Just tell me what me what you're using us for next."
"It'll be easier once we're all together."
He led her to a room, which contained a projected map of an island — Dynast's island.
Zelas, Claire and Luna were there. Luna's mouth was a thin line.
The others spoke, Filia sat down on a chair and listened.
Claire was certain that Lina and the others could not return to the Red World, unless Valgaav allowed them. As it stood, they a talisman just to speak to Lina.
Luna could be used to forge another angelsblood talisman, but it would take weeks. This was too much time for Zelas, who feared Lei and Valgaav coming to control her. She wanted one now.
Zelas listed the living in the same breath as the talismans. Like a collection of keys, one for Siephied's power, one for steering Siephied's power, one god in compact form, and so on.
Zelas dithered between extreme caution and rash decision. She kept changing the plans for invading Elmegiddo in the best way, without risk of the devils destroying it when overpowered, yet her other plan involved jumping right onto Valgaav's island to steal angelsblood talisman back, best if also the demonsblood.
"So, what if he does command you?" Luna asked.
"You must change the scene. For one of my mental caliber, a simple command disperses when the scenario it was given in no longer applies. More complex commands are a problem, so it is important he does not have the time to give those."
"I still think we should take Claire for teleporting," Luna said.
Did that mean she wanted to stop Claire, or ... Filia was too tired to question anyone else. She'd probably guess wrong.
"She can better aid us from a safe distance, she is only a liability near us."
"And you aren't?"
"Not if you do your task with the intended swiftness. Honestly, you are not in a position to complain. Miss Claire told me, we would not have this problem if you had kept him playing. Now we have this mess on our hands," Zelas snarled.
"She's sorry," Filia muttered.
"That changes nothing for us," Xelloss said.
Filia got up and walked away. He didn't follow, thank goodness.
There was an open terrace that overlooked the valley. There was a bench here, or an altar; Filia tried not to think about its purpose as she sat there and waited.
Sylphiel dropped by at one point and told her of the plans of Sailoon's invasion on Elmegiddo. In a hush, she asked whether it was true Claire meant to recruit the dragons for that, instead of Zelas's armies. Filia nodded.
"Maybe if you're there and it goes wrong, you can still try calling to Val," Sylphiel said. "Maybe with a life law circle? I've seen you do amazing things with those."
"I only transferred some power of myself to miss Orun," she said. "Nothing special."
She couldn't remember saying goodbye to Sylphiel.
Amelia and Zelgadis went by in passing, she had a notion she should ask Zelgadis for what he knew. A devil pushed her on to the beacon Claire had built, where Zelas and the others waited. It was her part to teleport them north, it would take too much for Zelas to warp space there.
Filia was whole and had regained the energy to go that far, especially if Claire guided her up there. She was good enough as a husk.
Heavens, she wanted Xelloss to wipe that careless smile off his face.
Just as they were about to leave, Jillas and Gravos stepped up. Jillas carried ammunition and Gravos had a spear of some sort.
"You can't come," she said.
"But gunmoll, we've got to be there as a family. That's our best shot at getting through to lord Val!" Jillas said.
"I'd like you two to go with miss Amelia to Sailoon. Elena, Palu and Molly will be very worried and they deserve to know what is happening. Mister Gravos, you should be able to help with selecting a few more Zenaffa armors that are nearly complete and take them along in case spares are needed."
"But Filia—"
"Please, you'll be safer with them. Your guns are useless where we will go. Please help Sailoon in my stead. We'll be alright."
She gave them an assuring hug, which felt like a lie too. She was sure of nothing, save for their loyalty.
Lyos gave her a salute when they left. Once the group was on Dynast's island, he'd go with Claire. Whether that was to his death, she had no right to criticize when she herself went to it.
· · · · · · ·
Lei Magnus had paid Wolfpack Island visit by dropping down straight from above, minimizing the amount of devils he met. Zelas meant to do the same.
The cold bit down through her scales the moment Filia teleported them north. From this altitude, she couldn't even see the island deep below.
She circled above the clouds, regaining her balance and taking in the energy of the environment. If nothing else, feeding was easy up here.
"Sure we can't just teleport him out of there and into a soul jar or something?" Luna asked, leaning over Filia's neck.
"With how distorted the flow is, even if we were within ten meters we would need one amazing beacon to make a link with where ever we'd bring him," Filia said. That didn't even cover how the devil presence threatened to overpower her other senses. Only Dark Star came so close to this suffocation.
Still, Filia could also teleport if sight allowed her to navigate. She could make the jump from up here, if divided by two, but that might reveal their presence. Zelas took them all in and warped space. Within a blink, they reappeared on the ground.
Though dark gray stone made up the island, frost and snow had turned it pale. Pillars stood without a ceiling to support; maybe it had been a castle once, maybe Valgaav had changed the terrain.
Frozen creatures lay around the floor, many whom still lived. An eye moved there, and this one twitched a leg. The woman to the left missed both her arms. The werewolf to the right had his snout ripped off, and over there a dragon lay with their wings pinned on their neck.
This here was Dynast's farm for suffering and she could not change that. Could not help anyone.
Filia forced herself to keep walking. If she freed them now, they'd just be imprisoned again at the cost of the mission.
They passed beyond the fields into a maze of split rock. Here were cages carved in the walls, which held more mobile people. Each was surrounded by skewered undead — children, elderly ... all loved ones.
"Help me," they whispered. She didn't know how.
"Kill me," they pleaded. She could, but hesitated.
Xelloss or Zelas killed all prey alike before they could make any noise, even the quiet ones, so there were not witnesses. Of course they were not mercy killings.
"How interesting, forced immortality pledges," Xelloss said. The same tone he had used to mention the closing of restaurants he did not care for, or innovation that didn't matter. On an earlier day, Filia might have interpreted it as disdain for these tactics, but all she heard now was barely held interest.
"This takes too long," Zelas said. "We have encountered neither troops nor trace of Valgaav. Miss Luna, you can see farther across the astral plane than us, have a look for us."
"Sure," Luna said. She projected herself a stairway of random scales, right behind a pillar to hide herself. She peeked over the stone cautious at first, but then added floating eyeballs.
"That-a-way," Luna said, pointing down south. She smirked, satisfied. Not disturbed by the scenery. "Good news : he's looking like Lyos and I did shortly after the pillar. I'll bet you chimera trouble."
Maybe Val still existed, she couldn't help but hope. She wished she still had the hell gem; maybe it could get a response like it had once.
All three turned to her.
"Filia, no. Don't," Luna said. "Val doesn't exist."
"With all due respect, miss Luna, you're not even sure how you yourself exist."
"Got a point there," Luna said.
"Did we miss anything? Again?" Zelas asked.
When neither Filia nor Luna answered with more than glaring, Zelas continued, "The last time you two did something unexpected, Valwin caught wind of it and Rangort knocked on my door suspecting me of conspiracy. It was a contributing factor to why e was ready to turn on me during the unfortunate scheme in hell."
"We'll tell you if you tell us," Luna said.
"This is hardly the place," Zelas snarled.
"Then whatever we did in our dreams can wait as well," Luna said.
They went on without another word. At about a hundred meter distance, Zelas stayed behind. She would be back up, but did not risk getting close in case she was commanded.
Xelloss was at her side again. Two meters was too close, he only added to the flight instinct.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
Gods, it felt like she never would be. Still, she held out her more mobile hand and filled it with the slow, woven magic used for shields.
Their magic blended into white, laying around the three and expanding to the side. As they had agreed up front in case Valgaav tried to shoot past them. They were also to try and make it block sound, if possible. Zelas had a lot of expectations that Filia wasn't sure she could deliver.
They kept walking in silence, with only a vague plan. Luna would try to claim the talisman, while Xelloss and Filia disabled enemy magic. Should anything go wrong, Zelas would warp them away.
Amid the distant moans and the howl of wind, a new sound reached them. The cooing of doves, and movement of wings.
A flock of doves flew over them, standing out against the blue sky. They landed behind a rocky wall, somewhere in Valgaav's area.
Barely had their cooing stopped, or the rocks and pillars that shielded the group disintegrated.
Valgaav sat on the icy ground, legs crossed and only half facing them. The black wings were out at full, but slouched against the broken walls and pillars.
"Look who is here," Valgaav drawled. "Come to steal my talismans?"
"They are not yours," Xelloss said.
"It was my plan and my machine, so they are mine. You were just an asset to my plan, you idiot."
Filia's heart skipped a beat, she fought down the urge to flee. She'd known Xelloss in blood lust drive before, but now she had lived through being the prey. She closed her eyes.
"Miss Luna, are you—"
"He doesn't have the angelsblood talisman here," Luna said.
"What?" Xelloss snapped.
"He's using the demonsblood to control the pieces."
"Of course," Valgaav said. "Do you think I'd be so stupid to keep an angelic power when these devils expect me to be Dark Star? Too much risks."
Without getting up, he curled his wings ahead. A blue energy sphere formed between the wing's points, growing before he threw it at them.
On impact, the fusion shield flared away like soot on a fire, and with it went the wind barrier before Filia could activate it.
Why? They agreed on the goal ... right?
Was there something Xelloss hadn't told her?
Valgaav stood up. "Useful!"
Luna shoved Filia, and she ran on instinct.
Pointless. He jumped over them, landing on a pillar between them and Zelas.
"Get over there, Zelas!" Valgaav called with a bizarre echo to his voice.
And Zelas obeyed, albeit slow.
"Zelas, quiet. Sit and stay until I say something else," Valgaav said.
Zelas projected as a wolf and sat down, but Xelloss shot away. Valgaav cursed under his breath and hesitated on what to do. Then he went after him.
That was ... so simple. Mere words could still a creature as powerful as Zelas. It wasn't even Shabranigdu's raw energy that did it, just ... words. They were his tool now.
The answer to the failure struck her : Filia did not agree to being used as a tool. She stood alone, despite her company. None of them had the same goal, not even the one who should be a happy seven year old child.
"Filia, try to teleport," Luna said, pulling at her arm. "Or just fly."
"Oh no you don't," Valgaav said.
The ground opened below them, or perhaps walls grew to separate her from the others.
Filia landed hard on a cold floor. Pain shot through her shoulder, another spot she had mishealed.
Extra careful, she sat up and laid a hand on her bruised shoulder. At least her head hadn't hit the ground. While forcing herself to heal, she looked around.
Luna wasn't here anymore, nor were any of the others.
The area was a simple icy corridor, pale light shining from an unknown source beyond the walls. Had it been another time, she'd have found it beautiful.
"Miss Luna?" she called, not bothering with the others.
Her voice echoed on till she was ready to move.
Nobody answered.
She couldn't sense Luna; there wasn't even any flow. Only the earth below still had stability. In fact, the earth's innate magic seemed to compete with the devil energy.
Having only one thing to do, she stood up and walked. She didn't know for how long.
The corridor led her to a dead end, so she turned around. Where she returned wasn't how she'd come in : an oval, frozen door.
She pushed it open and stepped through. Behind her, it froze shut.
A silver hall reflected her on all sides. The floor sloped up to the center, where a dark, doublefold cross stood. The entire scene struck her as a symbol for the frozen mountains where the Ancient Dragons had died. A pale land with a dark center.
Against that cross sat a child covered in ice. Still, she only took a second to recognize the pale green color below.
"Val?" she said as she increased her step.
"Mom?"
Shaking off the ice, he ran towards her with a big smile. Without thinking, she got to her knees.
Locking his arms around her neck, he whispered, "I missed you."
"I missed you too," she said.
"It's good you finally came, because you have to help us make the world more beautiful."
"What do you mean?"
"Come, mom," he said, tugging at her cloak. "You still have to atone, remember? You have to help me rebirth the world. I have a lot of dark power now. We can fuse magic together, and if you summon Siephied's power into the machine, we can reform the world. Come, let's do it, mom!"
Her son would never say this. Though still gentle, she pushed him away.
"Come out, Valgaav. You're not my son."
The boy looked at her sadly. "But I am. I've been since you took me in."
"You were hiding inside my son," she said, halfhearted at best.
"Yes, but we both want the same thing. I just didn't remember for a little while, but I did work to help out." Within his palms, a white light morphed into a dove. "I was busy all along. Really mom, I want what they want. We looked all over the world, we planted seeds and we inspired. We're making paradise, mom."
Filia clasped a hand over her mouth, stifling ... something. A scream, a plea, a prayer — everything.
They'd been there the entire time. Val's quirky little attraction to doves and other white birds. It'd been so cute, his protectiveness of them. She'd jokingly told him he could open a pigeon messenger system, all the while believing he'd grow out of it eventually.
"It wasn't supposed to end with you hurt, mom. When the dragons started going round we were extra watchful, but then the cat happened. If we'd have been told, we would have teleported safely out of the city. None of the plan was supposed to hurt our family."
"Val, if that's true, why are we and others being hurt now?"
He looked up, a sad little smile on his face that looked too mature for him. "Certain pain is necessary for the world to keep turning. You were right about that, mom."
"This is not how I meant it," she said. "Stop it, Valgaav. Please."
The boy frowned and turned away. Within the motion, he grew taller. She expected Valteira or Valgaav, but his clothes turned to a white cape with feathers atop.
The one who turned around was a stunning woman in her prime, her only resemblance to Valgaav being her hair color and the twisted black wings.
"Are you certain you want us to stop?" she asked. "I have come to save the world from the Lord of Nightmares. You are a dragon, child of the holy. Why do you defy the one you should pray to? With your god dead, I am the closest you have for divine guidance."
Filia balled her fists, finally having someone to steer the blame on. Volphied had corrupted her child ... was an easy thought.
"You shouldn't have killed us. He was the last Ancient Dragon, destined to set right the world. They were always a special clan, born long before the seed of despair grew in my sibling. You have a lot to make up for," Volphied said.
"Destroying the world won't make anything right," she said, Filia covering her ears.
The voice still came through.
Volphied smiled sweetly. "That is easy to say when saving the world is as simple as providing some dead energy and letting someone else fire. That too cannot be done without hurting someone, in this case the one who already suffered so much. Imagine if saving the world were more complicated. It only leads to reason that the price of pain before paradise would be higher."
"Nobody wants change like this. You should have just asked us for help."
"Should I? What's so different about that and all the other people who used you? At least Val gave you kind memories, while the gods and Xelloss and Zelas pushed you around without regard. I swear, had we known to flee before those dragons found out, it all would have gone better. Meanwhile, Xelloss had a great time breaking you, glad to finally have an excuse. Had he not been required to leave, he would have gone on all day."
"You can read emotions, not minds ..." she whispered. Heavens, why did she even try? This one thing was probably true. Xelloss was a devil, never forget.
"Does that change that this is the kind of world where people like him exist? Don't you want a world where the war ends?"
Memories flickered in her mind.
"That ... Valgaav, Volphied, who ever you are ... it won't work. Wars won't end by removing the gods and devils. Please, you don't need to kill anyone but Shabranigdu and maybe some of the retainers. A world without them still would have war, you've seen it, right?"
"No, it won't. We would remake it so that it cannot. It'll be better that way."
Something snapped in her mind and she backed away from him or her or it.
"They won't be real people," Filia said, more desperate than she wanted to. "Either everyone will be just a puppet or they will be trapped in their minds."
The way the Volphied mirage smirked told her this was exactly what they wanted.
"I won't do it," Filia said. "Please, stop this. It won't help."
Valgaav's old form replaced her again. "If you're going to be like that, you're just in the way. I don't need that."
He shifted behind her, pulled the cross from the ground and rammed it through her stomach. At first the burst of pain didn't register, she only buckled to her knees by sheer force. The long end bore back into the ground before she bled.
What would have killed her by breaking her spine only felt like it did. The cross was a magical construct, pure devil projection. She lived, but with a curse tearing right through the core of her devil senses. It went haywire, telling her devils were everywhere, even within.
The walls melted away, revealing a greater hall around them. There, Zelas was anchored to the physical plane in the form of the quadruped wolf, the one she used to be covert rather than fight. Nothing held her, save a command.
Xelloss knelt at her side, also bound by nothing, but some command of Zelas.
"Maybe you two will listen better than she did," Valgaav told them. "Once, I told you all that the world is a trap. Xelloss, you didn't like that at all, did you? You're about to dislike things even more. Zelas never told you the full plan, did she?
The reality is that she rebels against the Lord of Nightmares as much as I do. That is why she won't tell you the plan."
Filia knew to expect fury when Xelloss opened both eyes, but terror was rare.
Valgaav exchanged his form for that of the child he should be, so he could look right into those eyes.
"The Sea of Chaos is cruel, we understood that and so did Siephied. That's why he went back to Chaos, because that was the only way to escape the joke. The whole world is a bad joke."
The floor grew black arms surrounding him, which pulled him to the ground a few meters before Filia.
On the astral plane, Valgaav formed another lance.
He pierced it through Xelloss; down the flat of the cone to the point on the astral plane, through the back on the physical.
Xelloss screamed, but the dark hands from the floor wouldn't let him either move or withdraw his projection.
"Zelas, when I say, tell him to keep his tongue, that includes all sound, not just words. Tell him that," Valgaav said with Shabranigdu's echo.
And so she did. Xelloss stopped screaming. The arms holding him down grew thin streams across the floor toward her.
Valgaav shifted behind her and jerked her free hand back on the cross. The streams ran up the cross until she felt their sting below her fingers. It pierced into her astral body and forced the power into her hand, but the connection was fragile. She almost pulled her hand loose.
At this slight movement, the arms pushed into Xelloss. He didn't scream now, but he cringed.
"It will be your choice this time," he said. "All you have to do is let go and he'll be gone. It's the one thing I agree on with golden dragons : devils must die."
Oh gods, she should and now she could.
Yet she only held on tighter. Whether it was to defy Valgaav's madness, whether she knew he was the only way to channel Shabranigdu, or whether some foolish part still cared for him, she could not tell.
In the middle of everything that broke, Filia would not fall to vengeance. It was the last she could still be.
"And if I do, then what?"
"You're going to live to see the world end, and as it should be, you will take part in it."
If the world would end, it wouldn't matter whether or not she would kill Xelloss here. As if it really was her — this was another's power holding him down, and Valgaav could decide at the drop to change his scheme. She held on.
"Forgot someone?"
A bit of gravel fell down.
Luna had carved a hole in the ceiling. After tossing away the rock outside, she dropped down between Zelas and Valgaav.
"I didn't forget you," Valgaav said. "You know you can't get off the island without being seen, and I know that too. Your ticket for leaving is in here."
"I dunno, it's pretty empty there."
"Only because I make them keep a ring around me. They're bothersome filth."
"Sure, and it's got nothing to do with your secrets." Luna nodded at Xelloss. "On that topic, what are you doing to him?"
"I'm breaking his mind so I can recycle his power into something greater and worthier. You know, just like Siephied wants to do to Lyos."
"Siephied's dead," Luna said.
"Right, and they're trying to make him anew, and you're one of the pieces." He flicked a claw to summon a spherical vision of hell.
Within it were images of Rangort's world, closing in on ... was that Lezo? He had some traits of Zelgadis ... and there was Milina together with a man brimming in the same red energy.
"Rangort turned against Zelas because he realized Zelas wanted to seize control of Siephied and Shabranigdu," Valgaav said. "I used those aspirations of her for our benefit : she built the machine for me, and on my instructions without ever realizing. Now I am taking over, and you? What are you going to do?"
The words rolled over Filia, pushed little pieces of information in place. Everything fit, what she already knew and what she suspected, and the way devils were.
"Fascinating. Probably more so if Zelas hadn't told me there'd be something like that already," Luna said. "Too bad I hit my anger ceiling already."
"No wonder you don't understand! How could you understanding anything about me when you have no pain?"
"Aww, poor you. I'm such a horrid audience. Can't feel for all my sins, won't feed any of your whims," Luna said. "It just makes you wanna write raging odes of misery, right?"
Valgaav tried to grab her, but she flared her own wings out and formed a barrier around them.
The arms clawed at her light, in vain. Luna had anchored within the earth, invoking not just her own strength but that of Gaia. At least until he tried harder, she could ignore him.
She squatted before Filia.
"Did you give up?" Luna demanded.
"T-there's just nothing I can do even if I try. I can't fuse magic, my son won't listen and Valgaav is too caught up in his misery to hear." She forced the words out through the pain that she couldn't tell apart anymore. She couldn't tell whether the cross through her body or in her mind tore at her more.
"His misery? He's making us miserable but you're caught up in feeling sorry for him. It's revolting," Luna sneered. "Filia, take it from another egoistic monster, ... you gotta stop forgiving people if they keep doing the shit they need forgiveness for. It's wasted on us."
Luna laid a hand on the cross, meaning to break it.
"Don't," Filia said. "It'll kill ..."
Luna didn't let go, but she stopped trying to move it.
"Ugh, martyring again? You're not even martyring for a good cause. Now, nagging people, that's your talent. You sorely disappoint me by not nagging Valgaav about the thousands of innocents he killed. Y'know, when he tore Dark Star cross the world? Nice prelude to kill you and he's going to do it again. He should ask your forgiveness, not the other way around!
You too are the last survivor for a genocide by the servants of the gods, yet that didn't make you throw out all your compassion, right? Where's your vengeance spree against the Black World gods?
My squeaky little sister missed the mark. Making things right shouldn't even matter, it's not your fault his people got offed by yours. That was not a choice you ever made or ever would make."
Filia knew that, purely in her mind, but everything she might do against Valgaav felt like sin.
"Shut up!" Valgaav roared. "You don't understand how it feels! She lies to herself, but I see the truth about the world."
"Oh, you just broke my heart," Luna said. "Look at all the pieces."
Valgaav let go a scoffing laughter. "Of course you don't. You've got nothing to break. I've been dealing with grief since I was a child."
"Yeah, and only your own grief, everyone else be damned. I at least admit I'm selfish."
"You just live that way cause you're afraid," Valgaav said. "Volphied told me about you. You're the epitome of godly selfishness. The little lady ... you only befriended her because you wanted to use her power. What a prize, to find a dragon willing and capable to drag you out of hell. Too bad you came back wrong."
"Nice dodging of what I said there. Anyway, yeah, I did," Luna said with a shrug. "So what? It doesn't stop me from living, it only stops me from being emotionally exploited like right now."
"Oh really? You can't take away your positive feelings, but you can lose the sources of that. Where's your pet? Did he die or did Claire heal him?"
Luna breathed out deeply, something she did to keep her anger in check. The first time Filia had seen it, they had revived themselves in the hall where Liliane had tried to kill Luna.
Filia had assumed good grace that Luna had spared Liliane, now she wasn't so sure. Maybe killing a queen was too much of a hassle.
This time, Luna had no reply. Her hands dropped to her sides. "He left."
"Figures. You're not worth any loyalty." He looked over his shoulder and wing, at Zelas. "And neither are you."
He lost all interest in Filia and Luna. When he passed Xelloss, he had one of the arms push its thumb through Xelloss's wrists.
When he spoke again, Filia could hardly understand. He might have ordered Zelas to speak now, might have started to argue about chaos, but Filia's attention slipped.
Holding onto awareness took everything.
When Valgaav spread his wings to surround Zelas, and all his voice became an incoherent drone, Luna ... relaxed. She projected her own wings, surrounding them so Filia couldn't see Valgaav anymore.
"Here's the deal, he's playing with other toys now. We stay put, he'll ignore us. If he turns to us, act bland."
Luna set her own hand on Filia's, helping her hold onto the cross. With this motion, some of Luna's holy energy seeped to Filia.
"You wanna know the truth? Yeah, I did befriend you cause your powers could be useful to me. That shouldn't matter when you're dying and I'm the one helping you," Luna whispered. "Tell me what you hope would happen if you got through to him."
"I ... if he stepped down now and Val returned, we'd go—"
"Val's fake. What if Valgaav said he changed his mind? Could you do that by making him realize he is evil, or would it involve giving him what he really wants? Happiness or whatever it is?"
"I don't think he deserves to suffer more, so—" Luna clamped a hand over her mouth.
"I get sick hearing that. Parroting your old temple made you think you're the sinner and he's the martyr suffering. The messiah who asks the entire world. He asks too much."
"Like you?" Filia asked. "Don't you ask too much too?"
"Ah ah, bad girl. I'm the wrong messenger, but that's not the point, you see. You never asked for payment, Filia. Jillas, Dilgear, Gravos, Xelloss and I," she said, holding up one finger for each. "I bet there's more that I don't know about. You've forgiven all of us. Even now, you're forgiving him, but not yourself. Why?"
"He's just wrong about the way to help the world." Parroting what she told herself in quiet moments.
Surrounded by skulls of the victims, she could still try to claim her people were saints. But not for long. The way one learned at the temple of Vrabazard was thorough. One came to not merely believe the way, one lived it. She had never really able to shed her temple.
"Filia, no. He never helped the world, he only said so. Little vibrations in the air. What is actually happening that proves this? Did you ever see him doing anything good? Cause if you're gonna throw a fit cause I turned out to be a bitch, he better not get a green card cause of his sob story.
Ooh, I can redeem him cause I understand how sad he is! Woohoo. He sure as hell doesn't give a shit about how sad you are," Luna sneered. "Hey, wanna have my sob story? When I was little someone killed me, but I put my body back together like an immortality pledge does and here I am : a living dead girl, cut and bound by her own strings. Disgust was the first I cut away, then everything else followed."
Luna brushed aside her bangs and turned Filia's face to look in her eyes. "Now I told you that, did time rewind to undo my sins?"
"No," she said. "But—"
"You're in pain now, you've got a tragic past and present. Why are you not hurting others?"
She didn't want to, but—
"It's not the same as with him? Why?"
"Because ... he's good under there, even if he made mistakes."
Even if she couldn't believe it anymore, her words took time to reflect it. Luna hardly needed to continue.
"Good is in actions, not in beings. Answer the question. Does his past undo his actions? Does you feeling sorry make a difference for those he chooses to hurt?"
Filia shook her head.
"Then don't you dare forgive either of us," Luna whispered.
Infecting the devil lance with her own holiness, Luna held one end steady and broke the other, only sending a small jerk through Filia's astral body. After tossing one end, she pulled out the other in one swift move. Filia slumped forward, but Luna caught her by the shoulders.
"Let's make a deal. I'll quit torturing people on a whim if you let go of your obsession with angsty criminals. I'm probably doing it for the wrong reasons, but hey, it's something."
Filia knew she would hold that, and the Valgaav she wanted to know had never existed.
She looked at him one last time, saw the vestige of everything he symbolized for her — mercy, redemption, atonement; the harvest of the sacred — and let it die.
What remained: a dragon who smirked while surrounded by the suffering he claimed to relieve. If he made a new world, pain would be considered justified if he caused it. He would become the cruel, judging god that he claimed to eradicate.
What kind of messiah asks for atonement by taking away all chance of mercy?
The woman at her side presented nothing sacred, but she offered change by reason.
Filia braced against the ground and pushed herself on her feet. One hand she kept on her wound, forcing her power to heal.
"We should kill him," she said. It still felt like her son was somewhere there, but she couldn't let that feeling matter.
"I love that sound, you know, but we gotta survive first. Let's get the talisman, get out of here and stop Lyos from existence failure. Then we can think about death, kay?"
"Let's."
Luna projected a dragonic claw around her arm and dug it into the ground. Deeper below were the spirits of earth and magna, now rushing up at her command.
Ignorant at the way earth worked, Valgaav ranted on before Zelas.
Luna did two things before chaos exploded. First she had earth spirits undermine the barrier trapping them. Second, she arranged for a gathering of magmatic spirits circling Valgaav. She paid them in holiness and flow, which they eagerly took : they had never liked what the devils did to nature here.
On Luna's command, the entire hall broke into chaotic heat.
Zelas escaped her binds, grabbed Xelloss and shot off.
Baffled, Valgaav stared after them. He cast a quick glance, saw Luna and Filia still in place, and took off after them. Barely had he gone, or Luna broke the barrier.
"That was easy," Luna said. "Just a wild guess, but he's got no clue how to handle his power without setting up anything."
Luna shoved her down a tunnel. Filia didn't even need to tell her which one, the angelic flow stood out by contrast.
Tunnel, door, darkness and the dim light of the astral plane. Astral corridors again, like in the mountains, but older and deeper into astral planes.
Luna stopped when a door blocked her path. Surely the Siephied Knight could blow it up, but she turned to Filia as if daring her to be proactive. A dim version of offense flared up in Filia's mind. Had it been a lighter mood, she would have scoffed at the challenge.
Filia tore the door off its hinges without ceremony, prompting a smirk from Luna.
Once Luna was through, Filia pushed the door back in place. She stayed there, leaning against the icy surface. The cold hurt, but she barely minded as it sunk in what was happening.
She'd run from her child.
Her child was gone.
Never had existed.
Tired eyes looked back from her own reflection, the thing Valgaav had always been after. Someone to reflect himself on, and for that ... her son. He'd drowned his own last chance. He found value only in himself and his goals, at the cost of the world.
Here she found her first seed of anger at him. Heavens, when compassion didn't compel her, she had so much reasons to hate what he did.
Far away the howl of a wolf brought her to the present. Right now the wolf devils fought for their freedom against Filia's fallen idol.
She steeled herself and turned to Luna, who had burned away much of a tarry mass on the other end of the room. Strings anchored a gooey cocoon to the walls, sealing the angelsblood talisman within. Its effect was nigh rendered invisible, only the sharpest holy creatures would sense it.
Every time Luna got deeper, the tar moved back place. Burn it with fire, and more just oozed from the walls.
"Dammit, he figured out a way I can't just summon it to me."
Val had stolen the talisman right under their nose, while Granny Aqua became Claire. From there, it had come to the hands of the wrong devils. She had so much to say about that, but kept it in.
"How did Zelas keep it in place to begin with?"
"Right, should have figured that."
Luna twirled the metal off her neck, forming it into a long chain. Like a whip, she threw it against the rock. This pierced right through. When Luna pulled it out, the angelsblood talisman hung at the end.
"We have to clear that," Filia whispered.
"Got it," she said, holding out her hand with the crystal in it. Filia locked her hand over it and Luna closed her fingers around hers. They removed all holy flow that tied it to Valgaav, bringing it into their service.
Through it, Filia saw a nearby island and tuned into it. From there, they could work on a longer jump.
With one golden flash, they changed location.
Out here, it was almost warmer, or maybe that was just the absence of devil influence.
"I'll transform after the next jump, so we can fly," Filia said. Luna nodded.
This time, Filia brought them far into the sky. Luna stayed afloat by her wings, but sat down between Filia's wings after a second.
Filia took a deep breath and could feel the flow again. Better than ever, in fact. Having both Luna and the talisman in the same place worked wonders, even the contours of earth against sky stood out.
So did the chase. Devils moved out of the way as Valgaav in full dragon form plowed after Zelas and Xelloss. Shabranigdu´s darkness poured out beyond his hollow, most of it aimless; he could hold more than he could use.
The wolf devils stayed below the water to drown out any command they might hear. If anything, Valgaav did not seem to know how to override the elements, so he tried to herd them back to the island.
Luna tapped her on the neck. "Yo, I know I told you to quit forgiving perpetual assholes, but you wanna help them? If he commands Zelas to use her intelligence to smooth out his plan, we're in deep shit. Does Claire even know how to operate the machine?"
"Xelloss is also the only one who knows how to contact miss Lina across the worlds," Filia said, and left out how badly she just didn't want anyone to die.
"Same page then. Listen, they can probably get away once Valgaav can't see them anymore. We just need to buy them a head-start. How much power can you channel right now?"
"With three gods cut off from the flow, only as much as amounts to Ragradia's outer power, and that's weak. You saw the curse."
"It'll do," Luna said, tossing up the talisman and catching it. "Go after them, stay high."
Using cloud cover for the stretch and teleporting across open areas, Filia caught up with the chase. It hardly took her energy, Luna must be aiding her.
At full form, Valgaav was even bigger than Val at his peak. His head alone was the size of her whole body and had feathers the size of her wings. Despite the poison in his astral form and the fleshy tumors in his wings, he had all the magnificence of the greatest dragons. Siephied's mirror image in this species, the feathered dragons. This parallel to holiness she put to death as well.
Filia raised her voice in wordless summon. Siephied's power came weak, but radiant nonetheless. Another thing she should not think of as holy.
On her back, Luna manifested wings and those tendrils to hold the power. Between her hands, the talisman pulled it all into a sharp star.
Right then, Filia took a dive.
Luna's attack blinded her on both planes. Only the roar that shook her to her bones told her it had been a hit. Following it was the crash of water.
When the flare faded, the ice and water took its place of concealing. Valgaav had crashed into the ocean, which now rushed back in to cover him.
Luna just whistled. "You know, I do so love packing a punch. Now where's ... there they go."
Zelas's bright form shot out of the ocean for a blink, then she shot southwest.
It would be a good time to clear the premise, so Filia teleported higher. Taking in the sunlight and wind, she shed the last remnants of devil taint and let holiness heal her.
"Miss Luna, thank you," Filia said at last.
"Hmm? Oh. You're welcome. So, what's the closest to where Lyos is that you can teleport to?"
"If you keep lending me power, that will be the temple beacon in Dills."
"Keep channeling me energy, I'm going to feed some of those nature spirits, and they can give you nature flow," Luna said. At those words, she released holy power towards a nearby flock of cloud spirits. As soon as she did this, they were hers to command. She set them to work on speeding up Filia's flight.
Flight became easier, breaking less of a strain. In silence, Filia flew on and did nothing but calm down, and think.
Val had been a lie, she told herself, but still ... the lie had been so convincing that even emotion eaters were fooled. If nothing else, the feelings had been real enough.
In this scheme, feelings were tools and risks. Not only for the devils Zelas guarded herself against, but the kind that made people weak when they should be strong, the kind that made people harm themselves, and those that exploited it.
When guilt did not weigh down Filia, she answered with rage. Experience only meant she knew when to temper it, and express it in ways more effective than a stampede. Adding to the bargain between her and Luna, whatever its worth might, she promised herself the end of being the weakest link. She had to know more, achieve more ... change. Nobody should have a hook in her anymore.
"Miss Luna, what did you mean with wrong reasons?"
Luna waited long before she answered.
"Look, ... dammit, just once. Just once I'm going to do one of those introspective rants. Not making this a habit. You are the reason I said it out loud, or maybe that I confronted it ... I don't know.
There's people I love. I've hurt them and I didn't care. I still don't, but I don't want to find myself without power one day, and find myself hating the monster I am. I know what you feel like when under the burden of guilt. It's also that ... I want to be me, but who I am is intricately linked to Siephied's power. I can't shut down what I do to myself, it's not conscious. Don't know whether I'd be happier on the other side, but doesn't matter. Can't change my feelings or my past, but I can choose to act a different way.
You've got too much guilt, I've got too little ... somewhere in the middle, there's gotta the point where it's just right for us. Same thing for worrying and so on."
"You're right. Let's find that spot," Filia said softly. "There is such a thing as too much guilt."
Luna chuckled, tapping her foot on her shoulder as one would pat a human on the back. "Hey, don't get too cold."
"I won't. That's why I'm going to ask whether you stopping mister Lyos is also for the wrong reasons? When we spoke about mister Dilgaer, you were in favor of letting people do what they thought they wanted."
"I was wrong, okay? Dilgear didn't want to be my pet after all. I just ... got in his head. Not with magic or flow, just by making his world small and about me. They call it Storkhelm Syndrome in fancy circles. Maybe Lyos doesn't really want to die."
"I'm certain he doesn't want to die, but it's a sacrifice he deems worthy. Should we stop him?"
"Is it worthy at all? Come on, it's not like we really know what's going on. If Valgaav's right about everyone being on the sacrificial altar ..."
"That might be. Perhaps that is what Zelas would disagree on with miss Lina," she said, wondering whether she should go on about Dilgear or whether Luna herself would say anything. "Alright, at the least we need to talk with him."
· · · · · · ·
The shrine at the foot of the Kataart Mountains consisted of little more than a few square rooms and a leaking ceiling. What power it held was a legacy of nearly a thousand years of rooting below the sacred mountains.
The dent in the floor where Xelloss had dropped had been patched up with gravel, likely by the maintainer.
"What a mess," Luna said. "Doesn't fit the amount of power stuck here. Bet there's a story to this."
There was, but Filia didn't have the mood to tell. Her mind was with energy traps.
"Let's be quiet. The retainer of the area is an elderly couple, they must have their sleep."
"Think we can get some too?" Luna whispered.
"Maybe. As long as you have the talisman, nobody can move their plans ahead, I think."
"Unfortunately, that's true."
Luna and Filia whipped around.
Xelloss stood in the doorway, hand up in casual greeting.
"Good to see you got away safely," he said. "As did we. Fortunately, the magic you handed me during our, ahem, disastrous fusion wasn't lost to me. I kept it, and here we are. Lord Beastmaster's outside, feeding."
Filia's mind went right towards the humans that lived here, and Xelloss seemed to guess.
"Don't worry, there's devils and animals around here. Such old humans wouldn't live long enough anyway."
Words were wasted on that, he could eat her disgust just as well in silence.
"We worried how we'd find you, but now we won't have to look," he added. "You've got a talisman, right, miss Luna?"
Luna crossed her arms. "Oh, you'll be looking."
"Oh come now, this isn't the time for that kind of thing, isn't it? We still have to invade Elmegiddo, fortify it and ... I'm actually not sure. How much of what Valgaav said was true anyway?"
"As if you don't know one of the game masters," Filia said.
"Miss Filia, I'm ... "
She looked him straight at the eyes, but he kept them closed.
He leaned back, out the door, and called, "Lord Beastmaster, our dragons arrived, I may need a little assistance."
Filia and Luna exchanged one look, and they agreed. Filia fired up her teleportation magic, bringing them both a few hundred meters up. Filia transformed at once and shot away.
Below, Zelas had projected and she spotted them right away. Filia just barely managed to teleport away.
Astral sight being so limited, Filia and Luna had one advantage : Zelas and Xelloss had to project to see where they were. It slowed them down enough for Filia to flit all over the place.
Filia gathered up as much strength to jump again, this time to Rygoon.
On arrival, Filia already knew they had a passenger — Xelloss had caught the same flow as her and lifted himself and Zelas along.
Sparing no time, Filia teleported between Rygoon's branches.
The tree would give them cover, and Filia could teleport much better here. She went deep into the tree, until she found one of the farthest tunnels. Filia took human form and they took pause.
"Does Zelas know you can fly?"
"Unless one of her troops saw us, nope."
"Let's separate. While I distract them, you go to Lyos and Elmegiddo, and find out to what extent we've been kept in the dark. If what Valgaav said about the plan is true, then using the machine would be handing him more power."
"Separating's ... probably going to work, if we use a trick to simulate me. Great idea. What when Zelas catches you, Filia? I didn't drag you out of that pit for you to just make another stupid sacrifice. Heavens know you're looking for a way to die, you might just provoke her."
"If I don't provoke her and assuming she catches me — which I don't intend to let happen and you should have more faith in my teleporting ability — will I be alright?"
"Well, I survived being found without talisman and she didn't make me a tree ... Okay, here's what you don't do : don't mess with life laws on her, don't talk about identity. Messing with minds is their kind of taboo, like how we mortals have this thing against ... I dunno, eating the flesh off of living victims."
Filia shivered, half remembering how annoyed Xelloss had always been when she dragged him with words. She shut that line of thought down quickly. Even if that was unpleasant for him, he had no qualms about doing equally unpleasant things to her, and worse.
An odd sizzling sound jarred her from her thoughts.
Luna pried off a tiny piece of the talisman, released some of its energy. It settled into new form.
While holding them apart with her projected claws, Luna pulled loose some of the magic metal around her neck. Forging that into a long, thin thread, she embedded the smaller piece into it. This she curled around Filia's neck.
"Here," Luna said as she stood up. In Luna's place, a ghostly imprint of her remained, structured like the vision spells they had used to communicate for years.
"Let's meet in the valley of the ancients," Filia said. "And please be careful."
"Back at you. Don't provoke Zelas, okay? I mean it."
"I won't," Filia said, all the while doubting she even needed to.
"Hey. If I don't meet him again, I guess ... you can tell Dilgear I'm sorry."
"That's a huge stretch, you not surviving. I expect you to do it yourself, miss Luna."
Luna smirked. "If he turns into an astral chimera, I'm gonna have a hard time convincing him. I'll see."
It could be better, but it could also be worse.
Filia left to be seen by Zelas, the vision Luna moving at her side.
She made sure to be seen, made sure to flee, and left Rygoon behind.
In the air she transformed, and the mirage Luna sat on her back. From here on, she prepared for another great jump.
This time, she didn't mind that Zelas and Xelloss hitched along.
This was her first time really stringing along a devil. Buried under everything she tried not to feel, she had a little light left to enjoy that fact, and a lot of fire to expand it to more than just them.
She would need to string along many more to have a say in this cruel game.
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