Title: Instrumentality

Summary: There shall be no more borders between us.

Leon

Something was off about the world. The atmosphere felt different compared to how the game presented the event. I was expecting a euphoria of emotions to overwhelm any negative thoughts. Livia's magic was supposed to wash away all hostility.

Instead, I felt completely oppressive magic wash over me. Even through Luxion's filters, my body felt Livia's encroachment. It was as if my very being was being crushed by the onslaught of energy. Out of ingrained fear, I refused to let in Livia's magic. No matter how much I desired her touch, I instinctually knew doing so was a transgression against nature.

Looking outside, I saw enemies and allies alike fall from the sky. That wasn't supposed to happen. They were only supposed to stop fighting.

"Master, vital readings of the Kingdom are dropping at an alarming rate," Luxion blared.

"What? But the battle is over! No one is firing anymore!"

"My drones indicate that the New Humans are liquifying... Olivia is causing people to... melt? No... transmogrify? Ooze readings indicate distinct magical signatures."

"That can't be."

Rather than give a proper response, Luxion pulled up a video of the events. It was one set up near the temple. The priests and nuns were holding out their arms as many Livia's began to embrace them, but in doing so, the forms of the people gave way. They burst into a liquid and left behind only their clothes.

"Master, hostile detected."

Looking at my monitor, I saw Livia's form clawing on Arroganz. She seemed to be mumbling my name over and over. Unlike the serene expression I saw in the videos from the drones, she had a frantic look here.

Was she not like the ones roaming about the capital?

"Livia?" I fearfully asked.

"Leon. I'm so glad. I was afraid you had fallen in battle when I couldn't feel you. Please let me in, Leon."

Rather than allow this thing in, I delayed by asking, "What's going on, Livia? Why are you killing everyone?"

She giggled. It was the cute giggle I remembered from the Academy, but it felt like it clawed against my mind. It horrified me to my core. The smile she gave was not filled with warmness but an emptiness. It was nothing more than skin stretching on some alien face. An unsettling mimicry at best.

"Silly, Leon. I'm not killing them. I'm saving them from death."

"What?"

"They still exist. Their minds and essence have become a part of me. I've freed them from the mortal bounds placed upon their existence."

"I don't understand."

"It would be simpler to explain if you would let me in. Become one with us and you shall know all that we know."

"Luxion, status on the Weiss."

I was hoping this wasn't Livia. That my Livia wasn't the person behind whatever this was.

"No life signs are detected. No one boarded and left the Weiss."

"... What happened to Angie, Livia?"

"She's with us, Leon. Would you like to talk to her?" Livia said with a curious tilt.

That was when I saw her body begin to distort. It didn't involve the snapping of bones or anything visceral. Instead, Livia's body bubbled and shifted like clay. Slowly, the form took on Angie's shape.

"Angie?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Yes, Leon."

"How are you here? You were on the Weiss and... What... I..."

She chuckled as how I remembered, but I only felt dread now.

"After Livia activated her magic, we can be everywhere all at once. We've shed the need for our mortal shells. It only serves to separate us."

"..."

I could only stare in horror. The words Angie was saying felt inhuman. I could understand the words, but they flew beyond my ability to truly understand.

"You are terrified. I don't blame you. I was too before Livia connected our souls."

"Connected your souls?"

"Yes. This is the pinnacle of holy magic. Holy magic is inherently the ability to control the soul."

"This cannot be. Livia's magic was supposed to fill the enemy with Livia's love. It was supposed to convince them to throw down their arms because Livia abhorred violence. It's not supposed to do all of this."

"It connects all of our souls, Leon. What you were able to comprehend was merely a small aspect of holy magic."

"How is genocide holy?"

"As we have stated before, no one has died. We have become one."

"You exist at the expense of everyone who has been consumed to form you! How is that not death?"

"And we all still exist as one being. We all still experience life in our own way. We all simply see life differently now that we have gained the perspective of all whom we have accepted."

"Bullshit. You aren't preserving everyone's existence. A person's existence is the accumulation of everything that has shaped them and how we grow from them. You may have the experiences, but you have destroyed the character built from those experiences. You're nothing but an empty shell."

"You speak as if we aren't real. You speak as if the Angelica before isn't the girl you know," the mockery said before she began to split into two. "Or that the Olivia you see isn't the girl you've helped all year."

"Damn you," an angry voice sounded as a black object slammed into the monstrosity hanging off Arroganz.

"Vandal?!" I yelped in surprise.

AN:

1) A short chapter since it was just a random thought that floated through my mind as of late. I have zero clue how this could be written.

2) This is not a sneak peek of Marie-less's ending. My light accumulation theory I wrote for Marie-less chapter 11 made me think about this particular brainworm.

3) Evangelion anyone?

4) Vandal and Leon fighting side

Review Response:

noisymatchstar: I disagree. Aside from a baroness making that demand of a ducal house being pretty brazen, a politically motivated individual would not be comfortable putting two people who see marriage as an act of love in a marriage. That'd be asking for Iris to be booted from the marriage.

CJShadowRider: I would say the right sort in the sense that it keeps Leon neutral... or as neutral as his sensibilities will allow. Iris is more of a character who keeps Leon's tongue in check and makes sure everything keeps running. If this enables Leon to do more stupid things because he doesn't fully realize the consequences... well that could certainly be a story path.