[Back to Mordred]
Elariax just gave up.
Her black ribbons sagged, and the immense aura she released evaporated like smoke.
To be honest, I would've done the same, considering the entity she faced was something reality clearly doesn't want to accommodate.
Space fractured around Phoebe, and the air warped with a faint, crackling sound.
It was as if the world itself couldn't handle her overwhelming presence and was glitching.
Silver blood flowed out of the wounds from the Agony Thorns for a moment before they were healed in a heartbeat.
Then the pressure hit like a truck.
A silent, invisible weight pressed down on me. It was heavy but not crushing. It was more like a cold hand pressed against my neck.
And the silence…
It wasn't just quiet, it was as if something primordial had hushed all sound.
Phoebe let out a long exhale. An immense wave of ardor swept over me, so thick that I could taste it. It was followed by a drop in temperature so sharp that it made my bones tighten.
"You are hurt, Master." Her ethereal, emotionless voice spoke with power, her words echoing in my mind, threading through my skull.
The chamber's bright light bent towards her. It was a subtle yet unmistakable phenomenon, like a field of luminous iron filings reacting to a magnet.
The Incarnus took a step forward, and the silver floor rippled like water beneath her feet. The ardor shifted, drawn toward her like gravity had redirected to the Incarnus.
Then, her form began to change.
Bright light bloomed from the tips of her fingers and crawled up her arms in a smooth, flickering ascent, covering her forearms in a pure white brilliance.
Parts of her forearms flickered in and out, as if glitching through layers of reality.
The rest of her body glowed faintly from within, a soft radiance shaping her silhouette. Her crystalline irises shifted like the surface of diamonds.
Above her head, ten pinpricks of light like stars ignited one by one. Lines of pure radiance wove between them, forming a twisting halo. From each star, thin shards of light descended like hanging blades, gently swaying with an unseen breeze.
Her silver hair grew rapidly, forming a flowing curtain of silvery light that transitioned into clear, crystalline strands. The ends fractured into clear slivers that refracted light into many colors.
Her tattered battledress flowed around her tall, slender figure. Its white, silvery threads knitted themselves back together into something new and regal, befitting an ancient and powerful goddess.
Elariax stood frozen in place, her radiant eyes opened wide, fixed on the freed Incarnus.
"Your strength hadn't waned at all," her voice trembled, filled with both awe and fear
"It never did," Phoebe replied and stopped beside me.
She kneeled, causing a gravitational shift. She hovered her luminous palm over the open hole in my torso.
"All those Agony Thorns ever did," she said quietly, "Was suppress me from accessing my powers."
In a matter of seconds, a pleasant warmth spread all over my body. Bones mended, muscles knit together, and skin reformed, healing my body with a soothing and unnerving sensation.
In a breath, the pain faded like mist.
I slowly rose and stood next to Phoebe's six-foot-tall frame. Cold and warmth radiated off her, brushing against my skin and making me shiver.
Closing her eyes, Elariax let out a sigh.
"I see. Engaging in battle against you is nothing short of suicidal."
"Indeed," Phoebe replied, as if stating a fact.
She tilted her head. "But that doesn't seem to be the case for your sister."
"What?" Elariax and I snapped toward her.
Before the daemon could say anything, the double doors burst open, and a black streak went straight for Phoebe.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The shockwave struck like a truck, blowing me off my feet and slamming the air out of my lungs.
My ears rang, and my vision swam before I shook my head to clear the disorientation.
Looking toward the commotion with my steady gaze, I froze.
Phoebe looked eerily calm, not moving or even flinching. Her eyes stared into the empty void under the shifting, shadowy hood of her attacker.
A black longsword hovered mere centimeters away from her throat. It's sparked against the empty air in front of the Incarnus, as if it had hit an absolute, invisible barrier.
It was Alisax, or to put it another way, the puppet controlled by Lilith.
"LILITH!" Elariax's distorted voice shook the chamber. "What are you doing?"
There was no reply to her enraged question, only the soft grinding of Alisax's blade scraping against Phoebe's invisible barrier.
The Incarnus remained unfazed by this attack. She just continued to stare at the hooded daemon before her.
"Alisax," she whispered, her face and voice devoid of any emotion.
Suddenly, Alisax froze completely, and the blade's trembling ceased, as if she were trapped by the god's gaze.
Phoebe continued to speak in her emotionless voice.
"Horrified by your transformation, you ran away from me. And now our reunion is one where you try to harm me?"
An icy shiver crawled up my spine. Before I could get up and explain Alisax's situation, the Incarnus tilted her head slightly, and her crystalline eyes narrowed.
"However… I feel like something is wrong. You are not like your sister or the others who changed. Your soul shines as brightly as when you were a Luminus."
"And your actions," she stared into the void inside Alisax's hood, her gaze sharpening. "Lilith… She turned you into her puppet."
A heavy and suffocating silence descended over us before it was broken by soft laughter.
"As expected of my dear sister," Lilith's clear, delicate voice spoke from all around us, directly into my ears. The walls seemed to pulse with each word.
Phoebe, however, held her gaze on Alisax, whose body twitched like a puppet strung up to stillness.
"How does it feel to stretch your legs after millennia?" Lilith asked playfully. "I must say you look quite healthy even after my sweet torment-"
"Lilith!" Elariax's distorted voice, shaking with fury, suddenly interrupted her.
"What is the meaning of this?" the enraged daemon demanded.
Lilith's sigh echoed everywhere. "Meaning? Elariax, you failed to do the one thing you were supposed to do? It was truly foolish of you to send my love to Phoebe."
"You thought there was nothing he could do," her tone sharpened, like a disappointed mother. "And yet, he outsmarted you, thus freeing my sister."
Following another sigh, she said. "So I sent my fastest daemon to greet her. And also to thank my love."
Elariax's body shook, her black ribbons quivering with rage and frustration. But she remained silent, clenching her fists.
Lilith's next words, however, chilled my blood.
"It took almost all of my strength to suppress your immense power for these many, many years. I'm actually thankful to my dear Mordred for freeing you."
I could almost see her joyful face stretched by her smile.
"Now I can use my full power," she whispered with delight.
My fist clenched, knuckles whitening.
I let out a silent curse.
You're telling me that Lilith was controlling all the daemons, while being on par with an Incarnus, with just a fraction of her power?
What kind of sick person are you, dear author?
But…
I glanced at Phoebe, standing tall and serene, her presence distorting the world itself.
If it took Lilith almost everything to restrain Phoebe, just how powerful is the Incarnus standing beside me?
Again, I ask myself.
Just what kind of entity did I just free?
Phoebe remained silent as Lilith completed her monologue.
She then asked in a quiet voice. "What did you do to Alisax?"
Lilith giggled like a mischievous child. It made me sick to my stomach.
"It is what you are thinking, dear sister," she cooed. "Dear Alisax is a unique creature, a hybrid with the soul of a Luminus and the body of a daemon."
Her tone turned more excited as she continued, like a child excited to tell about their favorite show. "I couldn't make her entire being submit to me because of her bright soul."
"But…" she paused for unnecessary dramatic effect. "I only needed her body."
"It was quite exciting." Her voice was unpleasantly sweet. "A puppet with a consciousness, trapped in a flesh that she could not control, forced to just watch as her very body devoted itself to me."
Blood seeped from my trembling fist as my whole body shook with rage.
Just hearing that sick monster talk about the agony she inflicted on others with so much reverie boiled my blood.
However, before the sadistic Darkling continued her sick sermon, Phoebe interrupted.
"...I see."
Her gaze was still on Alisax, except this time it looked softer, sadder.
"You have become cruel, Lilith."
Her words seemed to affect Lilith, who immediately grew silent. It was as if she were a girl caught doing something wrong by a parent, or in this case, an older sibling.
Then…
"I've always been cruel."
Her voice had a subtle crack that I immediately noticed.
This was the second time she slipped, revealing something truer than her madness. Her words were filled with a certain desperation, as if trying to make herself believe them.
"So," Lilith's voice shifted; it was lower, but it carried the malice behind the false sweetness and madness of her usual words.
"What will you do, sister?" She asked in a sweet tone of false concern. "Will you free this poor tortured Luminus in the cloak of a daemon?"
A pause, then a hateful whisper spewed out her words.
"Or will you end the pathetic coward who ran away, abandoning you?"
I sensed the venom in her voice and couldn't help but wonder.
Does Lilith… hate Alisax for running away back then?
Even after ten years, I still couldn't figure out Lilith. Every time I thought I understood her, she'd twist like a serpent of contradictions, showing another new side of her.
What is up with this Darkling?
Getting to my feet, I glanced at Phoebe. She stood there, staring into the darkness of Alisax's faceless visage, her expression blank and unreadable.
Even though we now have a Soul Bond with each other, I could not fathom what was going on inside her mind.
"What will I do?" she echoed Lilith's words softly. Then her gaze met mine, her empty eyes staring straight into my soul.
"What should I do, Master?"
Her question hit me harder than the shockwave earlier. It sank into me as I realized that I was really the master of a god.
So, I gave her my command.
"Free her."
Phoebe nodded. "Very well."
Without hesitation, she placed a slender finger on Alisax's chest.
A burst of light from the touch blinded me, followed by a powerful shockwave that blew the daemon away.
Lilith's pained yell echoed and faded as Alisax crashed into the chamber walls, sending them crashing over her.
I spun on the Incarnus. "I told you to free her, not paint the wall with her!"
Phoebe blinked and gave me an awkward look. "Sorry. The purification required an immense shock."
"Don't worry, she is fine," she immediately reassured me.
"Now then," she turned towards Elariax, the action rippling the surrounding air, flickering reality like static.
Her voice was composed as she spoke.
"What's our next move?"
Looking at Elariax, I tilted my head and grinned. "Make sure she doesn't move."
"Very well."
Phoebe didn't wait for further instructions.
Before the Elariax could respond, numerous tendrils of light materialized around her. In a flash, they coiled around her body, restraining the daemon.
Two long spikes of pure light formed above her and plunged into the daemon's flesh, pinning her to the floor in a glowing X.
I winced.
Okay, that was a bit excessive, but hey, I'm not complaining.
Despite the gruesome injuries inflicted upon her, Elariax didn't even let out a grunt of pain.
Restrained and pierced by light, yet she held her gaze, focused and resolute. It was somehow more unsettling than a scream.
Phoebe watched her, and a silent message seemed to have passed between them.
"Are you sure about this?" The Incarnus asked softly.
Elariax nodded, the movement small yet unwavering. "Consider it a final request from your fallen High Commander… if you have it in your heart."
Phoebe's gaze lowered. "You know I now have a master."
The daemon's eyes slid toward me, and I felt her piercing gaze.
"Master of my queen, I implore you. Please take Alisax with you," She bowed her head to me, the human tortured by her kind for years.
She seemed so meek, so far away from the imposing and regal entity that I had fought mere moments ago.
For the first time, a daemon seemed so… human.
"I…"
My hesitation lasted only a moment before my resolve hardened. I had already made my decision the moment Phoebe freed Alisax.
"No," I said.
Phoebe merely shrugged.
The glow in Elariax's eyes dimmed a bit, but she nodded. "I understand. Too much has happened between you and Lilith's vassals… myself included."
She let out a hollow, distorted chuckle. "I expected this, but it stings a little."
Taking a step closer, I met her gaze.
"You misunderstand me," I said quietly. "I refused your request because you are not worthy of making it."
A faint surprise flickered in the daemon's eyes.
"I am taking Alisax with me," I continued. "She deserves better than this cursed world, better than... you."
"She was betrayed by everyone she trusted, even you," my voice was cold.
"But," I couldn't help but nod my head. "I understand that you have tried to help her, protect her, but in her eyes… you failed as a sister."
As my words sank in, Elariax's gaze wavered, lowering
"She no longer has a sister," she whispered, her distorted and regal voice wavering. "Her sister died fifty millennia ago."
Her words hung in the silent air like an echo.
"... Phoebe," I said, breaking the silence.
"Yes, Master?" the Incarnus replied.
I sighed. "Just call me Mordred. Anyway…" I gave her a small smile.
"Let's get out of here, Alisax included."
"Understood," she nodded mechanically.
The rubble shifted, and the limp, unconscious body of Alisax floated out of it, weirdly unscathed.
Phoebe guided her toward me, positioning her next to me so that I could support her tall frame.
I nodded to Phoebe.
She nodded back and pointed a finger at the domed ceiling of the chamber. A small point of light appeared on her fingertip and grew to a small, bright orb.
As I watched Phoebe, I noticed a faint stirring from Alisax.
A ghost of a smile appeared on my lips.
"So you heard?" I murmured.
It was weak, but I sensed a nod.
I looked back at the trapped Elariax, her bright eyes not focused on the divine Incarnus, but on the daemon I was supporting.
Her gaze shifted and met mine for a moment. I noticed that they were different from before.
It was quite un-daemon-like.
"Well," I paused before giving her a wink. "You and your master should consider a career in acting."
As Elariax registered my words, the small orb on Phoebe's finger shot upwards, right in the middle of the dome.
A single point of contact.
Then the dome shattered.
It shattered like a massive mirror. It's pieces suspended in the air for a second before falling like heavy rain.
Light refracted from all angles.
It was almost... beautiful.
Not a single shard touched us.
The Goddess of Restoration looked at me, a strange glint in her vacant eyes.
"Let's go, Mordred."