Under the judgment of the birds, the three arrived at an area where the snow flowed in aggression against their skin. Ferinish, hands behind her back, turned to face them, leaning on the hilt of her blade. If they wanted her honesty, she didn't know what to teach, nor how to teach it. Would combat alone be enough?
Carolina, looking at the dark tracks left on the white ground that led to Ferinish's sword, accepted the idea. In fact, theoretical training was hardly necessary. Carlos, adjusting the white and blue glove on his fingers, agreed. They only needed to fight to be ready in case of an unexpected event.
Ferinish let out a sigh, telling them to prepare.
In one, two, three...
The pair rushed at her.
... Five seconds later, they were on the ground. Ferinish pinched her nose, how disappointing. She kicked them both lightly, they were supposed to get up! No one would take pity on the pair if they stayed on their knees! With no response, she struck a snowball with the tip of her foot, which flew until it hit a tree, breaking and creating a short crack.
Sitting before them on a tree trunk, she gazed at the cloudy sky, chin resting between her fingers. In a cloud of thoughts, she pictured Slady in that bed... what had he dreamed while unconscious?
The thought broke at the sound of the pair moving. Carolina spat out snow while Carlos wiped his bleeding lips, giving soft pats to his friend's back. They wanted a rematch. Ferinish warned them that she would raise the difficulty with each fight, if they got hurt, it was their own fault.
For hours on end, cuts, flame, and fists deformed the ground and knocked down trees. Rocks split in half, and Renkai Creatures that suddenly appeared were reduced to wet reddish masses.
Now, under the orange sky, Ferinish knelt before a river, filled her hands, and drank all the water. The man and the woman didn't move, only breathed, small cuts on their bodies and purple marks in specific places. The warrior submerged herself in the stream, rising with a swing of her red hair. Then she withdrew, her skin taking on a reddish tone and the water evaporating. So she sent them to bathe while she headed to the kingdom.
In response, though she didn't hear it, the two whispered to each other: she's crazy.
***
The door opened, the silhouette revealed as a shadow against the sunlight. The boy sat on the couch, rolling a round blue candy on his tongue. When he saw her, it was the red haired girl! And an older woman, middle aged, appeared in the room shouting, slipping, a tray of coffee with pancakes escaping her hands.
Ferinish didn't hesitate, she caught the tray in time... and the woman with one leg.
Standing up, the woman thanked her dozens of times before receiving a touch on the shoulder, with Carolina giving a brief smile and dismissing her, still out of breath. Shaking her head repeatedly, the woman withdrew, putting the money in her pocket.
Without wasting much time, Carolina threw herself onto the couch, snoring. The boy, dodging his sister's body, held the tray firmly, then turned his head to Ferinish. Why was she hurt? She had asked for it.
As the moon commanded the sky, Ferinish leaned back in the chair, watching the street. the snow flew through the alleys, people wandered carrying bags, holding children by the hand, or interlacing fingers together with a kiss that made the warrior raise an eyebrow for a few seconds.
Soon, she decided to walk through the house. There wasn't a single dish in the kitchen. When she touched the living room couches, no dust came off. When she went up the stairs, low creaks echoed. She opened the doors of two bedrooms. the boy slept hugging a stuffed bear, the woman just snored.
Going back down, she noticed the counter beneath a television. On the wood, there was a book, a notebook, something she couldn't quite understand. It said "Memories."
Opening it, she flipped through the pages. the first, "family," showed a girl hugging the legs of an older woman. A bearded man rested his hand on the girl's head. And, in the mother's arms, there was a baby. But, despite the girl's white smile, the father's smile didn't show his teeth, and the mother's had no real brightness.
On the next, "First Friend," there was the same girl, younger. Hugging another boy. Both had short teeth, and some were missing from their gums.
Flipping through several pages, she found images of sunsets, of the kingdom at the height of some mountain, among others. But she stopped on one in particular. the same family, but now the father was missing. Neither the woman nor the girl smiled.
When she turned to the next one, there was only the girl and the baby.
And the rest were blank pages.
Closing it, the dust attacked Ferinish, causing coughing. Setting the book down on the counter, she lowered her head, opening the basement door. Seeing Slady, still lying down, his chest rising and falling slowly, she knelt before the bed, hands resting on the pants he now wore.
Then she took one of his hands, pressing it against her forehead. All that pain would come to an end, he would no longer be a burden.
Leaving him alone, all the doors closed, including the one to the living room.
***
Under the sight of the stars, Ferinish covered herself with her hood. The dark clothes swayed with the wind. Her skin was reddening and the shivering had stopped. The streets, now empty, were only disturbed by the howling of the night. Looking through glass windows, two people, under the darkness, embraced each other. Ferinish rested a hand on her chest, feeling the left side turn redder.
Within minutes of her feet sinking into the ground, she spotted a glow on one of the streets and incomprehensible murmurs. Going there, her eyes widened, the flames reflected in her pupils.
With accusations of being monsters, people carried images of certain men, those she had killed. Men, women, even young people threw lit torches, the fire kindled by a young man whose hand carried that heat. Every word spoken was curses and profanity directed at Ferinish and Slady. Ever since they came to this kingdom, everything had become hell!
How... how could they?! They didn't know the truth! Didn't they know it was Fraizen who started all the chaos? Ferinish didn't want to kill them, but... if she hadn't defended herself... maybe more people would have died in that accident.
As she looked at her own hands, she tried to imagine a reality where the bullets pierced her skin, but only a dark screen came to mind. And, lifting her gaze, her body reacted by fleeing. Their eyes almost found her.
Leaning against a wall, she questioned herself. Was she a monster? Was she something evil? Something that should be killed? Hadn't he told her she should never kill innocents? But why... why did they want her dead? Between stammers, she just refused to understand all that hatred, she only wanted to return to him. He was safer than that world.
Fleeing in tears, she found the soldier woman's house and took refuge in its basement. Lying on the bed, she watched the man lying there, her vision blurred. Why was she crying now, over something that seemed so "ordinary"? Why had she never, in her whole life, tried to imagine blood flowing from skin that had never actually been cut? Why did she suddenly feel all of this? Why cry over a house, considering every time she'd been plunged into endless waters, into fires that turned her to ash, into forests that tore her apart, why, simply... cry?...
...
The screams woke her. Now they didn't echo far from the house, they were strangely loud.
Stumbling out, she saw Carolina standing before the window glass. The coffee cup trembled in her hands. Standing beside her, Ferinish asked, quietly, wiping her face.
... They're protesting against the queen.
Indeed. The same people were there. They wanted equality! They wanted justice for the dead! They wanted an end to that dictatorship! Enough was enough!
But wouldn't that be good? They were calling out the one truly responsible for everything. But then Carolina turned her neck, her eyelids wide open.
They're going to die.
With the people's shouts, the great door opened. From it came Fraizen. Suddenly, silence took over everything, everyone stepping back. The queen now shouted back. they wanted equality? Justice? An end to it all? They would die asking for it!
The horn on the paralyzed half of Fraizen's face grew much larger. She walked briskly toward a boy standing at the front. A mother tried to pull him toward her, but the queen took him from her first. The woman screamed, begging her to spare him. People pulled her back while she reached out her hand, unable to reach her son.
Lifting him above her head, her claws wrapped around the boy's face. Long ago, there had been a similar protest. Did they know the consequences? Everyone involved was killed. But, only because she was in a good mood, maybe this one boy would be enough.
Then, as she began to close her hand around the boy's head, the mother pleaded again. And people tried to hold her back, to cover her eyes. With every second passing, the boy kicked his legs, crying... until blood began to seep between the queen's claws.
At that exact moment, a blade flew into Fraizen's chest, and she roared, throwing the boy aside. Ferinish caught him instantly. And another blade struck, this time a spear into the queen's head. She had seen much from Fraizen before, but this was unforgivable!
Carolina prepared to push the spear further in, but she was struck aside from the staircase railing. Ferinish, no longer holding the boy, ran and leapt, her legs wrapped in flames. And, tearing the weapons from herself, Fraizen threw them far, and from the wind itself, which accelerated, a block of ice struck her head.
Pulling back and fusing with the castle, Fraizen declared that the whole people would pay for the mistakes of three fools!
With that, the wind began tearing bodies apart. Some people managed to run into their homes. Others were split into pieces. Cries for help scattered every animal, which fled the slaughter in time.
As the two women were covered in blood, two arms pulled them away, fleeing that place.
***
Setting them down, Carlos leaned against the wall, coughing and trembling. With hurried steps, the boy Gyne came downstairs. What happened?! It was nothing, he tried to smile. It was nothing?! His sister was covered in cuts and had a wound on her chest! And the other woman had a large mark on her forehead! And he himself was covered in cuts too!
Carlos coughed once more, asking him to bring bandages. The boy ran across the room and brought them. Now he asked to be left alone, there was nothing to worry about. But he wanted to help...
HE DID NOT NEED TO WORRY!
Gyne stepped back, pouting. Sorry... But the boy didn't hear it, running up to the second floor. Carlos rubbed his eyes, muttering something under his breath.
***
Waking with wide eyes, Ferinish touched her own face, pressing one side of her nose, ice fragments coming out of it. She repeated the same on the other side.
Turning her head, she saw Carlos in the bed beside her. It seemed she'd woken up fine. Not exactly fine... well, what could be done. The man turned to his friend beside him, slowly touching her face, stroking her cheeks. Ferinish, breathing mixed with coughing, asked why he was doing that. That's how friends take care of each other. The warrior leaned back against the bed, nodding.
Carlos tilted his head, watching the wind run across the glass. What had happened? Carlos asked her not to make him remember.
Ferinish stood up, her legs trembling. The man watched her walk to the window. Stopping before the glass, she sighed.
The wind was unstoppable, tiny molecules of ice moving in a stream. The houses were covered in snow. Nothing could be seen.
The daydream didn't last long. Ferinish leaned on the bed, touching her head. Carlos approached, the wound had been very severe to the head, it was better to rest. No, she didn't want to, she needed to eliminate that woman, if she stayed alive, everything could...
She collapsed.
Carlos waved a hand, letting out a groan. What a stubborn head!
...
Her name echoed in a whisper. Upon waking, she wasn't home, nor anywhere at all. Her vision was filled with an infinite darkness. She tried to stand, but her body only "floated." Suddenly, everything turned white, and a figure appeared before her. the ethereal woman, Truth. Her news was clear and sudden. before she worried, Slady was fine, but he needed a lot of rest, and wouldn't wake for some time.
Why was that? Truth explained, her figure spinning around her, that a person like him couldn't survive alone. In all the time he had existed, it had mostly been her in control. And, given the awareness of the current reality, she too would need to rest. It would be a short time, and it was best she kept it a secret. Ferinish flinched when the figure turned toward her, only nodding in agreement.
In the end, there was nothing to be done, only close her eyes and let everything, absolutely everything, settle.
And so, she obeyed. Her eyelids closed unhurried, with the woman's eyes shut, white garments covering her nudity and her hands resting on her waist, smiling at her. The air grew warmer, orange taking over the edges.
And everything went dark once more.
...
!!!
A boom. Her body flew through blue air, until meeting the sea, sinking. Resting on the water, forming a floor of ice, the queen took her stance, her wings closing behind her back.
She would pay for everything she'd done.
Touching the water, in the blink of an eye, everything turned to ice. From that same ice, a mountain formed with a sharp point, which curved, aiming at the very spot where she had thrown the warrior.
And, in this way, she closed her hand and the point sank into the sea at a speed that cut through the air like a whip.
But, without seeing her own back, she was struck by arrows that froze her. With a cry in Carlos's name, she turned, firing arrows in every direction along with cold spikes from her wings. The man shattered them with his fists, the glove sharpening with each punch, thus falling before her. How did she have the nerve to try to attack him after everything she'd done?
He ran toward her. The woman laughed, how pathetic of him to try to kill her! In an instant, several spikes appeared. Carlos destroyed them and reached the queen, punching her other cheek, shattering the ice.
She stepped back a few paces, placing her bluish hand over the half of her face where there was nothing at all. Even as she recreated another, she deformed it, consumed it, causing more screams and more deformities across the Maritime Inferius. Even as Carlos tried to dodge, several demons emerged from the ground itself, trying to drag him down to the ocean floor. But he tore through them and reached the queen once more.
Defending at the same time, a sequence of blows began. The queen defended herself by creating ice from everything she touched or that matter could form, and the soldier shattered them, landing hits on regions where the roots pulsed with life inside her, the ice taking over more and more of Fraizen, her groans growing more distant from anything feminine.
But then, with a well aimed strike to his chest, he too was struck. The queen spat in his face, he was too weak to be the perfect soldier. And then, the thickness that pierced him now released him, and he fell, blood pouring from his mouth and chest. A low sigh escaped the queen's lips. She hadn't wished this fate for him, nor for anyone, but they... they had betrayed her! They were her family! And now there was nothing left for her, only a poison that had become her condemnation.
She even apologized, but now there was no more value in this kingdom. In all the years she had lived, she now saw that the people, this people, shouldn't see her as queen, but rather as the "brain" of a great body that would be created. So, she said her farewell and reaffirmed: she hadn't wanted it to end this way.
With that, she flew, leaving the Maritime Inferius, coming to rest over the snowy ground. In an instant, she sealed the portal with ice and flew off into the winds, disappearing into that sunrise.