Flik and Julius both flanked me, and my remaining guard knights fell in with Tatsuko and Julius' squad.
"I don't think she's interested in talking this one out, Airis." Julius warned.
"Maybe not. But she's a victim in all this as much as we are." I responded.
Aeko and Flik exchanged a look, then Aeko spoke up, "But she killed Murph…"
I grimaced, "Yes, she did. While under the effects of two curses inflicted by the man who ordered my father's death—there is reason to believe she's the one responsible for killing him."
Aeko's expression hardened.
I continued, "I'm just hoping for a peaceful, or as peaceful as we can manage, resolution. If I can talk her down, I'd prefer that over killing her in some twisted sense of justice."
"I get that, Airis," Julius interjected, "But this girls got instant death magick, right? We can't play around here."
"I'm not playing around." I lashed out, my voice raised.
"If it comes down to us or her, I'm taking her down. Your knights are thinking the same."
Almost in unison, everyone around me brandished their weapons at Hikita.
"Julius—"
In a sudden series of movements, Hikita disengaged and retreated within the violent storm surging around the void crystals.
"—claim Judgment upon these souls, Desolation!"
With her swords raised in the air, she called out a haunting incantation.
The void magick within the crystal resonated with her weapons. The air crackled with energy as dark tendrils snaked down the blades, staining them an impossible black that consumed the nearby light.
And then, she darted across the street straight for us.
HEY, SHE'S GONNA USE THAT SOUL-MURDERY MAGICK ON US! DO SOMETHING!
Atë's panicked voice hammered in my head.
"Dammit!" I shouted. "We couldn't wait another minute before escalating!? Akari, barrier! Knights, don't let her weapons touch you—not even a scratch. Focus on defense!"
Akari's blazing barrier encased us, and my knights tightened their formation.
Hikita closed the distance between us quickly, streaks of shadowy magick trailing behind her wake.
A volley of spells arced above us. The ones that didn't outright miss due to Hikita's speed were cleaved in twain by her blades.
She clashed with the barrier, and it shattered on her third strike.
Julius was already finishing his own incantation—a bubble of radiant silver formed around him.
"Lock her down!" he shouted, his shield beginning to glow.
Silvery chains intertwined to form a net that descended upon Hikita as the knights closed in around her. She contorted, arching her back to the side and kicked off Aeko's chestplate into a somersault. The net of silver chains fell to the ground harmlessly.
Hikita, no longer flanked, and now unchallenged, charged straight for me. Wisps of purple void magick wrapped around her limbs, as if controlling her movement.
I was entirely unprotected at this point.
I couldn't really fault my knights. When Hikita moved into the crystals proximity, I noticed her status had changed.
She was now as strong as a void-beast—though, seemingly her MAGICKA had been reduced.
- - - - - - - - - - - - {TARGET} - - - - - - - - - - - -
[HIKITA]
[HEALTH]: (623 / 666) | [STAMINA]: (651 / 666) | [MAGICKA]: (555 / 666)
» TARGET SUFFERS FROM NEGATIVE EFFECTS:
» CURSE OF THE FALLEN
» ACTIVE EFFECT: BLADES OF DESOLATION
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Just a single void-beast had wreaked havoc on our vanguard's front lines. There was no chance only a handful of knights would be able to keep her busy for long.
Hikita was upon me, her void-drenched blades closing in. Dark tendrils lurched out from the swords, snaking towards my body.
I HOPE YOU HAVE A PLAN! OTHERWISE, THIS MAY BE THE END OF THE ROAD.
Sorry, Atë, I'm pretty much winging it. But if you can do anything to support me, I'll take the help.
As soon as Hikita's void magick touched my skin, my nerves were lit ablaze with the most tremendous pain I'd ever felt. It was as if the bones in my arm were being crushed an inch at a time, the skin flayed, and my tissues melted with acid.
"Graaah!" I cried.
This spell—SOUL TEAR—was like a slow-motion shockwave, ripping my arm apart from where it struck me.
Time seemed to warp, and the world distorted so that this moment would be drawn out as long as possible—so that my suffering wasn't over too soon.
This spell was hell itself.
Pain surged through me, a visceral assault on my very essence—agony inflicted upon my soul.
I grit my teeth and tried to maintain focus.
Chaotic energy flooded every fiber of my being that I could still feel, as I willed open the font of magicka connecting me to Capricorn. I flexed my control over the magick, a modicum of defense against the Void.
My skin was stained with blood-orange stripes as Feyndirian runes clawed their way into view.
Strands of orange intertwined with black and purple.
A battle of magicks raged around my body as the pain in my arm continued to creep upwards.
Hikita's blue eyes stared back into mine from behind her blade. A mix of emotions raged within them.
I could see the superficial loathing. That seething hate.
But behind it, there was pain and fear.
Her face twitched as our magicks dueled for superiority, and I caught a glimpse of the scared girl who came looking for help months ago in the ruins of Tolin.
"I-m s-o-r-r-y."
The words were strained, jaw clenched tight as she fought back against the curse controlling her.
"Me too." I gritted through the pain.
A wave of silvery, orange, and rainbow colored light washed over the both of us as a nervous voice resounded in my head.
WE DECIPHERED THE SPELL. I'M CASTING IT BACK AT HER.
The strands of void magick recoiled back—Dáinsleif fell to the ground as my arm went limp.
Thunder cracked as a spear of iridescent light pierced Hikita's heart and violent purple magick erupted from within her, swallowing us both.
And then, the world went completely dark.
-✵-
Jagged streaks of light within a whirling storm raged overhead. The bright blue sky was gone. Replaced with a total blackness not seen even on the darkest of nights.
I turned over and I clutched my left arm, bracing for pain.
But I felt nothing.
When I finally rolled onto my side and saw the barren sea of endless beige—I swore.
"Awh, fuck, I can't believe she still got me."
Hey, Atë, you still with me?
WE'RE ALL WITH YOU. ALGEA IS HAVING A FIT. SHE DIDN'T LIKE THAT EXPERIENCE ONE BIT.
You felt that pain too?
IT WAS FREAKING AWFUL—
"Who is she talking to?"
A voice from behind startled me. I whipped around to find Hikita lying on the ground next to me, looking at me with a weird look.
Oh, man, what the… Hikita got pulled here with us?
Hikita's eyes went wide, and she looked around in a panic.
Ah, yeah. The whole, 'nobody gets to have private thoughts.' dealio. How I didn't miss this shitty place.
"Well, where do I start," I sat down next to Hikita, "This place blows. All your thoughts are just heard as if they were said aloud—same for me, obviously. So, no privacy. We're dead, but like, not fully dead. This is a transient place between other aetherial planes, like a bridge, called the Wanderer's Plane."
Hikita's expression shifted from confusion to disbelief—then surprise. A whirlwind of thoughts churned in her head, and I could hear all of them.
It took a while before her mind cleared up and she was coherent.
"T-The curse," she started, "it's… gone? I can think clearly?"
"That's great!" I said happily, "At least something good came out of this so far. Let's focus on the good for now. Some of those thoughts of yours are kinda depressing and it won't be healthy to dwell on 'em."
"But I hurt so many people! I caused so much pain… I—You… oh, Celestials…"
I placed an arm around her, "See, those are the exact thoughts I think we should avoid thinking about here. I don't wanna come off as insensitive, but this really isn't the time or place to deal with it. I can't be the one to forgive you for everything, but I don't hold any grudges. Not against you, I mean. I'm still definitely gonna murder Renault."
She looked at me, baffled, and I heard her thoughts.
"How will you kill Renault if we're dead?"
"Because…" I trailed off and ran through a list of thoughts in my head on how to explain how I'm probably still good—being a demigoddess and all—and how if she's here as a soul, I can just do the sketchy Capricorn endorsed 'soul borrowing' technique and bring her back to life.
By the time I cobbled together an appropriate response, Hikita had already pieced everything together from my stray thoughts.
"I will admit, not having to verbalize everything can have some benefits. But I still dislike not being able to have private thoughts." I told her after she was caught up.
"What do we now, though?" she asked, "Isn't this the wrong place for us to seek help? You spoke about—thought… about?—the Coil of Ascendance, right?"
I nodded, "Yep. I have good news and bad news regarding that. Which one do you want first?"
"Bad news? I guess."
I smiled, "Cool. Bad news is, I have no idea how to get us there. Last time we followed a very subtle—slightly less beige than the surroundings—beige pathway through the beige barrens of this beige wasteland."
"And… the good news?"
"I'm sure someone will come pick us up if we wait long enough."
And we didn't have to wait all that long—or maybe we did, time works weird in the aetherial planes.
A pair of black-feathered wings descended from the sky and a figure clad in green robes and skull accessories befitting of their titles, Avatar of Death and Gatekeeper of Aver'teria, appeared before us.
"Long time no see, Mors."
"It hasn't been that long." Mors stated blandly.
Their even toned voice, which showed no hint of emotion, was honestly very refreshing.
"Well, in any case, I'm glad to see you. Are you able to guide us to Virgo's domain?"
Mors narrowed their eyes at me.
"Yes. The Goddess would like to have a word with you and your… visitor."
"Is that a boy or a girl?" Hikita whispered beside me.
"Neither?" I guessed.
"Neither." Mors replied flatly, at the same time.
"Great." I clapped my hands, "Important questions are all out of the way, we're in your care, Mors."
And so, we followed Mors as they led us down the hardly distinct trail that headed out of the Wanderer's Plane.
After some time, Hikita pointed her finger out at the sea of beige and boring, and asked, "What's that?"
I glanced up, spotting a massive stone archway that dwarfed the tallest of towers in Axio.
"Arch of the Dead." I replied.
"What's it do?" she asked.
I shook my head, disappointed by what I already knew, "Nada. It's just a stone archway."
"Oh. Lame."
"Yeah."