Naturally the city went all out in searching for the real Night Queen, going as far as even sending adventurers to nearby cities. Alas, even Kaguya knew that they had all been played. That was the only reason she didn't even bother to go out and search for herself. That, and she didn't feel worthy whatsoever after the mistake she had committed…Either way, this was it, Bell thought with a sigh.
The Night Queen was gone. Perhaps even for a long time already, since the last assault on the city as a whole. To know that the Perseus' efforts were wasted in that regard…he did not want to be in the same room as her when she found out. Still, he glanced at his friend, the one they managed to save against all odds. He had to give Hestia his most sincere thanks later, as he waved with a smile, receiving one back.
Nyx was…not okay. If he thought she was a nervous wreck when they first met, now it was a miracle that she could even face people at all. While her words and sentences were devoid of stuttering…he could see how her body never stopped shaking. Even when she claimed to be at peace, being next to her first genuine friend that was Bell, she was shaking. As if a disgusting cold has grasped her very soul and would not let go. Once more, he felt fury and…an ugly flame trying to surface. He squashed it, focusing on the flame of righteousness instead.
The Night Queen…were there no limits to her depravity…? The things she did to Nyx, as she retold that story…
And then there was what she told everyone…
"I can't tell if someone speaks the truth or not."
How calm her voice was when she uttered that fact about herself. The disbelief on Astraea's and Hestia's face when she declared such an impossible thing. Gods knew everything. That was a fact for all mortals. And yet, here, Nyx claimed that she was…"broken" in a way. That she was unable to judge souls like everyone else could.
The reason she could be used as a pawn, despite being a goddess herself. One little crack in the system of divinity, and the Night Queen of all people managed to get a hold of it. What unfortunate coincidence. Despite her efforts to learn how to read people, it was like being a blind person among her peers. No wonder she never formed any relationships with the other divine. She could genuinely not understand a core trait of divinity. How wretched one must have felt, to be surrounded by people thinking you were playing practical jokes when souls were misjudged. How low one must be beaten by others, for making mistake that were supposed to be impossible to be made.
To ascribe malice to coincidental ignorance.
Back to the present, Bell bit his lip after hugging his friend. They separated and he stared at the small bag she slung over her shoulder.
"You don't have to leave," he whispered as he glanced at the open gate. Nyx shook her head with a sorrowful smile.
"I have to. I…" She let out a shivering breath, regret filling her entire being as she clutched the sling of her bag tightly. "I can't just…sit here and do nothing. My sin of ignorance…I have to make up for it."
"It wasn't your fault," Bell immediately said, causing her to shake her head just as fast.
"It was. I should've told you. Told anyone. Looked for help. But…I didn't. And I have to live with that."
He bit his lip. He could understand such guilt…but he also knew how hard it was to talk about such a 'disability', even to friends. Looking into her eyes, the light having returned to them thanks to the Hearth, he only saw pure determination in them. He wouldn't be able to convince her to stay here. With a sigh, he crossed his arms with worry.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Gods shouldn't interfere like I want to…But the rules are loose like this. Not to mention…" She shrugged helplessly. "I'm a broken thing. I barely count as a goddess." Her voice became a growl as she flexed her fingers. "And…I don't need my divinity for this."
The people in the vicinity yelped as they suddenly felt an icy cold freeze over their spine. Bell felt the same, but remained stoic, pressing his lips together, waiting for Nyx to calm down with a deep breath. Once she reduced her fear aura again, he shook his head slowly.
"You aren't broken." He sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just…you can come back and visit at any time, you know?"
Nyx sniffed, lowering her head.
"Thank you…Thank you for always believing in me."
"What are friends for?" He bit his lip. "...can you feel her?"
The goddess let out a breath, closing her eyes with a deep frown.
"Barely. She is actively hiding from me. But this connection of ours…it remains."
He sometimes forgot about that part of having a Falna. It was how the gods knew if their children were alive or not, where they roughly were. To know that the Night Queen had such a connection still with Nyx, despite all her apparent hatred for the gods…it was mindboggling, the depths of her vengeance.
What did the gods do to her? If what Nyx theorized was true…he did not remember any part of the legends of the Liberator that suggested any divine influence. Unless she blamed the gods for the betrayal by her people and the dungeon, but that was…incredibly petty. He didn't like the thought of Nyx being connected to her own torturer like this.
"I…I heard you can cut the connection, can't you?"
"Hm. I can only lock her Falna if I get my hands on her back…other than that, by going back to heaven among other things. It'd deprive her of my blessing, small as it is." Nyx shook her head. "But…I won't. I…I have the feeling that maintaining her Falna this way…will be important."
"Divine Intuition?" Bell wondered, causing her to giggle lightly.
"A merchant's instinct. We do find good opportunities."
He couldn't help but laugh himself. With one last handshake, he gave his friend a small smile.
"Good luck out there."
"Good luck here."
/
Nyx came to a stop. The village was polite, and courageous enough, to allow her to take a break in this little tavern of theirs. She was about to leave after having eaten, before she sensed someone staring at her intently. A presence that felt…familiar. She took a deep breath and allowed her legs to guide her to the table in the far corner of the room. She stared down at the hooded individual, narrowing her eyes, before they widened when the figure looked up.
"You…"
"Me." The hybrid, the Creature, Filvis declared, keeping her hood over her head. There were bags under her eyes, signs of exhaustion. She crossed her arms as Nyx took a seat. "...Are you well?"
"I am sane again, yes." Nyx licked her lips, nodding slowly. "She fooled you too then?"
"Hm. I was…so certain you were the same person…" With distaste, she shoved a magic crystal from a bag into her mouth, chewing on it with a scoff. "To think I was about to allow yet another innocent life to be destroyed…"
"She is good at manipulating the minds of others. I…do not blame you." Nyx folded her hands. "I suppose your role as a double agent has ended?"
"Any survivor who knew of the plan would know for certain I left you. The fact that no reports of my death or capture were announced…no, I burned my chance."
"...Why are you here?" She glanced to the side, into the direction of Orario. "...You can go back to your friend."
Filvis flinched before shaking her head slowly.
"I can. But…just like you, I have sins to answer to." She closed her eyes, conflict written across her features. "I have done too much to Orario to stay there. I would just make things complicated for Lefiya."
With that said, she lowered her head towards Nyx, palms pressing against the table.
"You are hunting down Evilus out there, correct? Let me join. Please."
Nyx covered her mouth in surprise. Honestly, she expected this journey of hers to be of solitude. She…never expected anyone to join her. Nor did she want to. After all…again and again she had been betrayed due to her malfunction. How could she trust anyone? But here was someone else.
Someone like her. If she could trust anything, it was their shared pain as mere slaves of fate.
"I suppose we are both tools that were used and thrown away." Her dry laugh died off as she narrowed her eyes. "Are you certain?"
Filvis raised her head, pointing at the side of her own skull with a hiss.
"I can still feel it. The voice demanding, scratching away at my sanity." She clenched her fist, her nails digging into her flesh before she forcibly relaxed her hand."I don't know how much time I have left. So…I want to do something meaningful before my end. To face Lefiya with a smile and then vanish, leaving behind only a decent memory."
"I…I may not be much but…I appreciate your help nevertheless." Nyx offered her hand. "Let's update your Falna then, my child."
The hand was grasped, creating the bond between a monster that should not exist and a goddess that should not exist. Both smiled sadly at this sorry excuse of a joke.
"I will follow you…my goddess."
/
To read a book within the dungeon was suicide if alone. Especially in the depths this individual was. And yet, no monster took the opportunity to hunt her down. Nobody dared to interrupt this being's relaxation. As if afraid of her very presence…the area was utterly silent, except for the crackling wood, burning slowly into cinders.
It has been a while since she enjoyed such calm, Alfia thought to herself, as she flipped another page. She hummed as she read the scene before her. The fight she imagined in her mind was that of an amateur. Fueled more by will than actual skill, especially compared to herself.
And yet…it warmed her empty heart more than anything else. To imagine that child to be progressing so fast, never stopping in his own path…
She closed the book, reaching the end. Mimir was as talented in writing as always. Flipping around, she ran her finger over the cover.
A white rabbit, cutely raising its small knife, with a flaming bell ringing behind him. Alfia giggled, imagining him. How much did he grow up at this point? How much did he look like…her?
"Would you look at that…The child has more potential than I ever expected…A Fool indeed…" She closed her eyes wistfully. "How would you react, if you read these stories…? Would you be proud…? Or would you be worried…?"
No answer came. As always, nobody responded to her question. For she was as far away from her twin as possible, ripped away from the blessing that was death. How she yearned to hear of her better half again. If it was possible to drop her own spell, to heighten her senses to reach heaven.
Alas, all that would do was bring back the voice of the dungeon, making its demands. But even now, as a corpse of history…she had her pride as an adventurer. Of the individuals that defied the dungeon with every moment they breathed.
And yet, here she was…acting no better than a monster, as she hunted down beings with intelligence. Emotions. She heard the reports, and she knew they had to be accurate. The rumors on the surface, the role HE had in that chaos…
To be more of a beast than the ones she was hunting. She thought she had fallen low before, but there was always lower. The One Eyed Dragon proved it to her, as it completely shattered her hopes and dreams, leaving behind a vessel of despair.
She glanced back at the book again, feeling her dead heart ache against all odds.
…Maybe in a better time…she could be proud of herself. To not be a monster, and instead raise the only thing left in this world by her sister. To not turn herself willingly into a tool of evil, and instead be the remnant cinders of hope for the next generation, to survive as long as possible as the curse of the dragon and her own sickness ate away at her.
Alas. That…was but a dream. A foolish dream she could never reach, nor deserve.
She has made her choice, to become evil itself, in order for the world to have the slightest of chances to persevere. With that in mind…she shut the book and threw it into the fire…the fond images and memories of her nephew filling her mind, before being locked away in her heart, in the darkness of her soul, as the fire began to die out within the dungeon.
Her eyes staring at nothing as all went dark.
/
Corpses were slowly being washed away by the ocean, the wet sand entering their gushing wounds. Amongst them in the Far East, knelt a weeping woman. She knew she had to go before the lack of reports made its way back to the mainland. And yet…
The Night Queen sobbed, covering her face, in front of the ruins, the drowned remains of her best and only friend's headquarters. There was nothing to be found of the ever confident mastermind of the shadows. Of the callous regent of slavery itself.
All that was there…was a crying girl, crawling over the ground to find anything. Anyone. A mere trace that could not be found.
"W-Where are you... ? Don't leave me alone like this... ! I-I can't... !"
What did she do to deserve this? She remembered a saying once, that hard work was rewarded. So where was her reward? She worked harder and longer than anyone else. Years, eons themselves, dedicated to her life's work. And what did she have left now?
Nothing.
Her resources used up, thrown at the enemy over and over again. Her greatest ally, who would never fail, failing against all odds. Her plan…burned to cinders.
It would take centuries, even millennia to build up again. To create the same power she had now. And…it was unlikely she could overcome the enemy, unless a third party catastrophe devoured them whole. In her arrogance as an immortal, as a relic of the past that refused to be forgotten…she lost the small picture.
And her friend had to pay the price for it. With empty eyes, she stared up at the heavens.
Again, they won. Again, everything went their way, their damned narrative, their nonsensical story. The air distorted around her as she screamed at the sky, those sinners that were responsible for All The World's Evil, including herself.
"Give him back…! What more do you want to take from me?! How long do I have to suffer until you are satisfied?!"
And as always, the heavens didn't respond. Uncaring. Unyielding. Without mercy, the stars stared down at her, awaiting new entertainment, for that was what the mortal world was to them.
A mere toy.
Her shoulders slumped. She rebelled for so long… fought for their right to live for so long…and evne now, she was nothing more than a puppet, still attached to divine strings. With no allies left, no forces left except one, and what could one tool do at this point?
She had no hope left in this age…
As if responding to that last thought of hers, something began to glow. She stiffened up and pulled it out, her tool of salvation, the blessing untouched by the heavens that got her this war.
Bubbling with dark mud, it glowed with a brilliant white light. As if showing her a path. As if piercing through her own fog of despair.
For the first time since arriving her…the Night Queen grinned maniacally. Right…that was right…!
Even if she was crushed! Even if she was broken…as long as she preserved, she could move forward towards her ultimate goal…! Giving up meant the end! And the end was not ready yet!
res
"Yeah…that's right…It's not over yet, right…?"
She couldn't let the stars in the heaven win. With that determination in mind, she raised her cup like an offering, prepared to accept any gift it was going to grant her.
"O slaves of heaven, heed my call."
"O souls yearning for absolution, heed my wish."
"I shall be the liberator of existence. I shall break the chains of the divine, of the foolish playwrights that control us all."
"Fill, fill, and fill again. May this golden cup be your beacon."
"Find emancipation in this last servitude!"
"Come forth, ye whose desires are not over! Emerge, ye whose wishes are not granted still!"
The grail shook and vibrated before exploding into light. The Night Queen cackled, already feeling the amount of energy released, the number of souls that were summoned. She never knew how this thing worked, how it could perform these miracles…but once more, the right course of history was granting her a chance, more weapons to rebel against the chains of divinity! She felt her own power flare up, the mist forming in the back of her mind.
She was ready, to break the minds of her latest slaves. To put them through illusion after illusion to make them do her bidding, as her palm was raised, ready to cast her witchcraft.
The light died down.
And instead, her arm fell down, limply, as she stared at the newly formed individuals with wide eyes.
She couldn't say anything, her mouth open but not forming any words. This…was impossible. Someone like her could not have summoned these people. She knew how wretched she was, as righteous as she was at the same time.
She didn't even know she was capable of feeling this emotion anymore.
And yet…
For the first time…
"Haha…"
Doera let out a quiet, but innocent laugh at the figures that appeared before her, not a hint of malice in her child like face as her heart was light for the first time since eons.