The White Darkness

By Helbaworshipper

Lotis Theives Arc: A Commander's Instincts

Eric wanted to believe what was going on was going perfectly. In the Seno Kingdom, it was going well enough. He was looking at the situation from Roland castle after taking care of the last little loose end. Still, something was not right about how smoothly it seemed to be going. Either way, he endeavored to take a look at the throne room while he tried to reason his way to not worry about the progress. The current throne room was occupied by the guardian and Lotsuan. As usual, the master was sleeping after her rather taxing use of Maram power. Darva's power was useful, but it took planning to make it work the way it needed to.

"Guardian," the masked figure turned for a moment. "Is there any sign of resistance?"

"I have only heard there was a small issue with the camp so far." The voice resonated out while turning back. "If it is to do with Wakamiya, I no longer sense the storm's presence."

"Was it cleared by a thief?"

"It is possible. A presence in a certain domain was pulled to there for some time and left."

"And the status of the kingdom?"

"Mostly destroyed," it answered again.

"Well, I suppose we'll take Seno Kingdom as our victory then." He smiled a little as he began to go up the steps. "Has master Lotsuan left?"

"No," the guardian spoke without hesitation. "Simply deciding as usual."

"Is my method not enough to stop such things?" He felt a bit of anger building up inside him. He had forced Alice earlier than necessary to get a heads up on this sort of problem! How could it not be so simple to choose him?! "Tell me, what is it I must do to get Lotsuan to choose me?"

"If that were a strategy, I wouldn't be here."

"Then what is the key, guardian?" He spoke, moving up another step. He had stopped out of respect, but part of him knew. He knew that the guardian was no mere barrier.

"Who told you about such a concept?"

"A rather spunky girl that was keeping the barrier up in Roland Kingdom once." He spoke, his grin growing a bit as the guardian hesitated. "Went by the name Neyozeka."

"And what happened to this girl?" The guardian asked, seeming to almost seem ready for something.

"I simply relieved her of her duty-" He blinked as he felt something looking at him. Normally one wouldn't notice a simple gaze. This one was… stronger than he expected. The guardian did not say anything as he stared into the gaze of Lotsuan. She had awoken at his statement.

"Simply relieved of duty." The words felt colder than usual. He could feel the power flowing all around. "Like you attempted to do to my sister?"

"Alice?" He blinked, noticing the eyes were more expressive. He thought that killing off Mayura would not be a huge issue, yet… The way Alice was in control made him worry a bit more. "Didn't you hate her?"

"Who said I hated Mayura?" Her voice was stronger as power forced him to slowly walk back down the steps. She was following him to the big circle of Lotis. He could feel it just behind him as she stopped. "And what are you planning to do if I simply leave this in your hands?"

"Convince you to trust me of course. I only ever had your best intentions in mind." He could tell the power struggle to contain herself inside of Lotsuan was more than she could handle. Still, if he could get her to just trust-

"I told you that I love my sister. That I care about this world." He couldn't quite focus as she had stabbed him inside his mirror. However, the guardian was now missing. The dagger he saw… It was the same that girl had as he relieved her of her duty. Why was this all.. "Your guidance was once so gentle. All I wanted was for the peace of the world. Yet now… All this power has done is divide the world once more." Her eyes were starting to water as she pushed him into the circle, the dagger covered in his blood. Had the dagger drained any of the power he had left? He slowly tried to reach out to her, to convince her that this was all a mistake.

"Alice, I can make this world better."

"I know… And I know that you'll do it by sacrificing everyone I love." She was still crying as she spoke her next word. "Jiva," she spoke as the circle began to put lotis right where she had stabbed into him. He could feel it all again. All the past things he had done falling apart. He remembered hearing his screams as he felt his body starting to disappear slowly. She had known his weakness all along. The word that if she knew right where to aim that would… How wonderful she had grown. As his eyes saw her one last time, he wanted to hug her and praise her. Why… Why was he going now?

Alice felt her arms go around herself as she cried. She had chosen to let Eric keep control once she realized what was going on. Perhaps it would be exactly what she wanted. Yet all she had seen convinced her that the darkness would be just as harmful as what was going on now. The dagger slowly left her hand as the guardian reappeared.

"Master Alice," the guardian picked her up slowly from the ground, allowing her to cry into the cloth closest to her. "You made a choice that you were not expected to have to make." The voice was soothing as the free hand slowly stroked the hair on her head. "I am most glad you made your decision."

"But… I know he would have been nice even if it was dark. How can I face Kyo or Frei like this?" She asked between sobs. Her shaking was slowly down as she asked.

"Listen to the heart that gave you the courage to let Eric be free of his pain." The guardian slowly walked out of the throne room. As the door shut, the guardian took one last look at the broken and shattered lotis mirror. He had truly been a strong enemy and he could have won perhaps if Alice hadn't been present for so much.

Kayna was not exactly sure what felt off when she returned to Roland Castle. Usually she could feel Eric's lotis making sure to keep things going. Yet, the moment she came back with her forces it felt different. She looked towards Samuel, who had returned a few minutes before her. He looked equally confused, but decided it best to head back to the castle.

"Normally the barrier here should be active at a lower level than it is." She commented as the forces spread to do their usual patrol. She didn't want to chance another chance of Kyo attempting to get inside the throne room. Not that she had been able to stop it ever, but the throne room was somehow less secure than usual.

"Even if it is off, perhaps it's a new strategy?" Samuel answered as his hand lightly touched his own maram robes to check for dirt. "It looks like the attack on the thieves camp failed thanks to Prince Frei."

"Probably a simple miscalculation on our part. We assumed they would all leave the camp." She commented as they continued towards the lowered drawbridge. The castle looked exactly how it had been earlier. In fact, it looked much more pristine. This made even less sense as Eric was not one to want things to look as such. She took a cautious step into the castle and turned towards the stairs that led to the dining room or their strategy room.

"Welcome back," the guardian was standing in front of the door. "Master Alice will now be taking care of everything." The two blinked, noting the guardian was almost different. As if before it had been in a sort of routine.

"Master Alice?" Kayna spoke first, trying to figure out if she was being punished. The guardian's hand gently lifted and opened the door. Inside was still all the strategies, but instead of Eric, it was… Alice sitting in his chair. The two were quiet as the next words were spoken.

"Eric has been sent to his final place. If you wish to leave now, then that is your choice."

The Lotis Thief Arc ends… And the Roland Kingdom Arc begins!