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A Ballad for Icarus - A Historical Pokemon Quest
- Thread starter Elpis
- Start date
Update 15: The Tomb of Giants
Elpis
Ostensibly Hope
- Location
- Berlin
Wilhelm the Fool and Tauros (as Inana sees them)
Winning Vote:[X] Cubone
[X] Ask about Ray's banishment.
###
You wake up with a start, standing up so fast that you see stars in front of your eyes. A small cry announces that the weight you felt on your chest was Perun, now on the ground and not that happy about the sudden wakeup call. He looks at you with wide eyes, the cracks in his head pulsing with the same color as the bioluminescent fungus around you.
The cave you're in now is… different. It's still very much a dark and dusty cave, but the energy down here is less intense than above. You look around, finding Sophia on the ground still, looking like she's having the most restful sleep of her life.
Unfortunately for her, she's not going to stay asleep long. A Cubone stands next to her, poking her with its club. It has a rather long tail with a bright blue tip that Sophia is lying on, trapping the poor girl in a stalemate, too polite to actually attack Sophia outright.
"Here," you say, taking Sophia's arm and turning her to free the tail. The Cubone turns around, now free, and finds herself staring up at you, then back down to Sophia. "Sorry about that, we didn't mean to land here. Are you alright?"
Cubone checks her tail, then nods when satisfied that nothing is wrong with it. You can see electricity sparking when the tip touches the ground, small bolts of lightning vanishing in the darkness in fractions of a second. You nod back, looking around once more for your other party member.
Ray is not lying down at all, you see. The hole above you closed, and as she was the final one thrown in by Wilhelm, she ended up stuck with her feet in the ceiling.
It'd be funny if her face wasn't so red from all the blood rushing into it. You point at the ceiling, it's not too far, but you don't want to pull on her unless you know it'll give. "Hey, can you help with that?"
You ask both Perun and Cubone. They look at each other and nod, and you find yourself used as a ladder. Perun is on your head after climbing up your back, and Cubone takes a small leap on top of Perun's head to jump up and smash the club into the ceiling. It breaks apart, releasing Ray, who wakes up from the sudden motion.
You catch her, one arm under her head and one under her knees, slightly kneeling to cushion the fall. She growls as she finds herself in your arms, flailing about and forcing you to let go.
She falls on the ground with a thud, face first.
"You really shouldn't be moving around that much," you say. "It's dangerous."
"That fucking bastard," Ray says, pushing herself off the ground. "That utter piece of shit, how dare he, that staff doesn't belong to him!"
You move aside when she starts swinging her arms around, all the emotion she usually puts under a mask of false sincerity spilling out into movement. "Careful—"
"That stupid priest should never have been promoted, that imbecile!" Ray's fist connects to a wall, and though the loud crack sounds like a broken bone, she does not look hurt or in pain. She turns to you, her finger pointed at your face. "You let him get away!"
You raise an eyebrow, pushing her hand down gently. "I think this has become a bit more complicated than a murder, so maybe we should take a minute to gather our thoughts. There's no need to become enemies at this point, right?"
That does seem to calm her somewhat, but not by much. Her hand comes back again, grabbing your arm, drawing you in close.
"We need to get that staff," she says, her voice low and demanding. Something in her eyes looks off, different from the usual coolness she tries to put on. "If nothing else, if I can't ask you for any favor after this, that staff has to go back to the temple."
"Fine, yes," you say, taking her hand off you. You hate that grip, that feeling of fingers twisting your skin under them. "Let's wait for Sophia to wake up and then we can talk about the staff, just take a deep breath. This isn't productive, Ray."
She walks off, not too far, and without any purpose. The distance is enough for her to be alone with her thoughts and come down, so you turn to Sophia, who now has Cubone, fascinated at her deep sleep, sitting next to her.
"Wilhelm's still up there doing his nonsense," you say, irritated at how easily this man got rid of you. "Sophia, we can't stay here any longer, we have to go."
She does not stir, so you do the only thing you can. You walk up to her and pinch her nose shut.
It takes a good minute, but she starts to wake, gasping for air. You let go, watching as the now slightly blue girl comes back alive. Cubone jumps back in shock, holding her club up in two hands.
"I had such a nice dream," Sophia whines. A moment later, she remembers just how you got here and her eyes light up, now fully awake. "Where's Wilhelm?"
"Up," you say, pointing at the ceiling of the cave. There's paths out and about, though which way is up is going to be difficult to tell. "That staff of his is dangerous."
"It's not his staff," Ray says, back in the fray. "Let's trade information then, who the fuck is he?"
"That's not a polite way to ask," Sophia says. You give her a hand to stand up, shaking your head. It's not the time to fight, and that much is still true now as it was three minutes ago when you said it to Ray. "Sorry, it's been a bit of a day. That man's Wilhelm the Fool, a thief whose organization should only be active in Gildera. And it's… impossible for him to be here, really."
"Impossible?" Ray asks. You frown, thinking back to the man's face. It was undoubtedly him, from the characteristics, his way of speaking, and that stupid mug. "I guess that makes two impossible things then, that staff is a holy relic. It's not kept accessible to anyone, not even the high priest can get to it without the keys."
"Keys?" you ask. "What keys?"
"These," she says, pulling on her collar and revealing a rather ornate, triangular key hanging around her neck. "There's only three of them, and if I still have mine I don't understand how he got to the staff."
"Two impossible things indeed," Sophia says. "Aria and I fought the man over a month ago now, she broke all his limbs and left him unable to hold a spoon by himself, there's no way he's up and about. Rather, there's no way he managed to escape and cross the border. That place is shut down tighter than the royal treasury."
"I guess we'll have to break all his bones again, then," Ray says. You can see teeth as she speaks. "I don't really care about the hows and whys, if he has the staff then he can only be up to no good. It's… not something a person should wield."
The last sentence trails off into a tone you have heard from her only once before. The pain in her voice tells a story. Before you can ask, however, Cubone interrupts you, looking up at Sophia. Sophia looks down, finally noticing her previous victim and giving her a smile.
"Aw, aren't you just adorable," Sophia says, bending down to pick the Cubone up. "Did you take care of us while we were asleep? That's so nice!"
Cubone actually looks somewhat bashful at the praise, scratching the back of her head. She wiggles a bit, forcing Sophia to let go. Cubone lands on her feet, turning to Perun and saying something. Perun nods, then looks up at you and gives you a bright smile. You tilt your head, finding yourself slightly confused at what he's trying to say.
Then Cubone points her club at one of the pathways and begins to walk forward slowly. You smile back at Perun.
"Well, we have our guide," you say, clapping your hands. "So let's go, if we want to catch Wilhelm we have no time to waste."
Ray and Sophia nod. Perun takes to your shoulder, chirping in your ear.
"Inana and Spring will be fine," you say, glancing towards Ray, "and Gumi. Tauros is strong, but those three won't be stopped by it."
"It does feel quite bad," Sophia says, her hand tracing her belt until she touches Spring's Pokeball. "To be separated from him, he's… been with me since I received him from the Guards."
"Yeah," you say, your mouth dry. Sophia realizes just a moment too late, but your own separation from Skiddle is not something you've been trying to dwell on too much. You know for sure that Capella and the others will take care of her, you know for certain you'll one day be re-united.
So you have to keep going, and every step that takes you further away from Gildera will make that reunion all the more sweet. Sophia puts an arm around your shoulder, and you try to smile as she makes a joke you can barely hear.
Cubone leads you further and further in…
###
The cave walls become more artificial again and you realize just how it comes together.
"It's a temple," you say, blinking. Ray stops, turning around with narrowed eyes as she takes a look around. Really looks, rather than stomp behind Cubone the entire time. The fungus hides a lot of it, but if you really pay attention you can see faded murals. Depictions of people, abstract and ancient, so old and in a language that must precede even Ancient Elysium. "This whole thing has been a temple all along."
"It all comes down to faith," Ray says. She's finally calmed down from before, though the sharpness in her eyes and voice has not settled completely. She brushes off some of the fungus from the murals, the cracking sound returning as she touches the wall, and you can see how the images form a greater whole as Sophia makes an excellent Magikarp expression. "But it's predictable, something you can find anywhere."
"Indulge me," you say. She shakes her head, but continues nevertheless.
"Before humans reigned, Pokemon controlled the world," Ray says, tracing over the mural with a soft touch. You can see the image of a giant, humanoid something. "To protect that world of Pokemon, an ancient god created five demigods from his image. Unfortunately…"
Unfortunately humans. You can see the spears in their hands, the staves held up high, the and the three beasts depicted. You see the ancient struggle, the world of before, and after.
"Humans have something most if not all Pokemon don't," Ray says, sounding bitter. "Endless curiosity, a desire to understand and own the world around them. The things they don't understand, the things that they can't control must be destroyed and buried. You're wrong, Aria."
You frown, a tight feeling in your chest as Ray turns around and points at the image of something that initially looked like the sun to you.
"This isn't a temple, it's a tomb," she says. "For a god that we humans have killed and forgot."
"You don't sound surprised," Sophia says, leaning against a wall. Cubone is imitating her, trying to look cool after putting the club next to her as if it were a sword on her hip. "I thought you didn't know about this place?"
"I didn't," Ray says, crossing her arms and looking away. "But it's not a new story to me, it's just told differently on the surface."
Of course, history is written by the victors of a conflict. Or at least the surviving parties. You imagine that the original intention of the tomb was to honor the remains of that dead god, even if it was in conflict with the people who built it. But hundreds, thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of years, can make people forget. Generations move on, and temples are built atop of those tombs.
One man's murderer is another man's hero.
And so the cycle repeats, over and over again, as senseless greed takes and takes and takes.
"Back then, the priest's taught me that the demons had such powerful control over the weather that humans were forced to live in caves," Ray explains. She sounds bitter, as if the realization her faith was built on misinformation had taken something from her that she can't get back. "So the three beasts came and offered their help. Those ancient demons, those ancient demigods, were defeated with their help. In those places where they were fought, we built temples to honor our saviors."
"That doesn't sound completely wrong," you say. She nods. Her issue seems to lie elsewhere. "Though the version is twisted, was it wrong for those forced to live in darkness to fight back against forces of nature? Pokemon and human alike are not all the same, the beasts helped humans, your faith is still true."
"My faith does not waver," she says, nodding. "But the truth has to come to the surface, and I'll make sure it does, even if the temple becomes my enemy."
A shriek to the side makes you jump slightly. You grab the sword from your hip, the shield on your back attaching to your left arm. You see… Zubat.
A lot of Zubat. While you were talking, a group of them gathered above you, and some began to descend. Perun stands in front of you, and though Cubone tries to do the same for Sophia, she looks rather worried at the large group of wild Pokemon.
"Hey, Perun," you say. He turns his head to you, his eyes still focused on the Zubat. "Remember that thing you used to shoot Inana out of the air?"
"Heeee?" Perun asks. 'Yeah, what about it?'
"You think you can shoot down that many?"
Perun shakes his head. Too bad.
"Then I guess we'll do it differently," you say. You raise your shield. The Zubat are large, but not very heavy. You can block some of them. Ray's bag, which always seems to have some solution to whatever problem she is facing, reveals a few stones that glow in a very light blue.
"Follow my lead," Ray says. Sophia nods, drawing her sword as well. "On three, attack with everything you go. They're usually in packs, if we beat enough of them back the rest flee."
You give her a nod as well. After floating around for a little bit, the Zubat swoop in all of the sudden, the large group on the ceiling descending all at once. Just before they reach you, Ray throws the stone up. It creates a loud noise, bad enough that it rings in your ears, and much worse of the Zubat it looks like. A lot of them end up crashing on the ground, Perun hitting a few of them in the air with a beam of condensed lightning.
You see Cubone slam her club into one of the Zubat that lands in front of her. She looks to Sophia, giving a thumbs up. Sophia smiles, then slaps one of the Zubat out of the air with the flat of her blade. No need to hurt anyone more than necessary, after all it's much harder to deal with grief and anger than just plain hunger and annoyance at their nest being invaded.
"Perun," you say, holding up the blade above his head. You don't know if this will work, but you can't imagine why it shouldn't. Skarmory steel is, after all, the shed armor of a Pokemon. Perun grins, standing on both feet to touch the blade with his head, then wraps his frills around it. With a loud shout, he begins releasing electricity, charging up the blade until the blade begins to crackle. "You're a dear."
You ignore the rather annoying pang in your fingers as some of the excess electricity decides to move into your body. The hilt is not metal, so you know you can do this.
"Sophia," you say, sheathing your sword. It's a technique you've seen exactly once, and Silvia has told everyone who witnessed it to not attempt any imitation, on pains of death. "Get behind me."
She does, slapping one of the Zubat to the side and letting Cubone bat it away with her club. There's still a good two dozen of them flying in the air, having recovered fast from the strange gem that Ray used.
You take a deep breath, the sheath of your blade vibrating with all of that power and energy. There's no way you'd be able to do this without practice anywhere but Olympia, where the electric energy is so abundant that everything is filled and touched by it—but you are in Olympia.
And you really wanted to do something cool like this before.
"Lightning Blade!" you shout, drawing the sword from the sheath. It sounds like thunder, and it smells like fresh rain on dry earth. The blade sings as you slash in front of you, the bundled energy releases in a line from the tip of the blade as you trace a path among the Zubat. The lightning explodes forward, the thunderwave hitting six directly and causing them to fall out of the air again.
You don't know what Silvia has, this is eas—and there is the drawback. There is too much energy in the blade, and it has to go somewhere. Rather than swing it further around and risk hitting your friends, you stab it into the ground, releasing all that energy into the floor.
It explodes with such a force that it sends you back. Sophia catches you, sliding back a few meters as she leans forward to make sure both of you don't get hurt. Unfortunately you still haven't moved on from the mural, so those few meters end up sending you both into the wall.
Fortunately, the force of the impact is negligible. You feel a bit bruised, but that's nothing a potion can't fix up in a moment. Your hands… are burnt. Not badly, at least, but the palms definitely require some ointment. Not great, but not bad either. The Zubats turn and fly away, and Sophie lets you down slowly, sliding down the wall to sit down and catch her breath.
Perun looks… stunned. As if he never knew just what kind of power could come out of those little frills. Cubone, too, finds herself rather awed at the sight of twitching Zubat on the ground, paralyzed and quite unhappy with you. They crawl away, rather than fly, and you find yourself having to deal with a whole new problem.
"Pfff-hahahahahaha—" Ray begins to laugh. A genuine, deep laughter that causes her to hold her stomach and keeps her unable to stand straight. "Lightning Blade! HAHAHA—"
You feel your face heat up. "It's… it's what one of the Glastrier captains called it, it became her epitaph…"
"It's so—it's so childish!" Ray says, laughing even louder. The heat reaches your ears, it's not such a big deal is it? What's wrong with shouting the name of your attack? She seems to calm down for a moment, then looks at your sword, still stuck in the ground, and begins all over again.
Sophia starts laughing as well. This betrayal is too much for you, so you just ignore them all and stick your hands into your bag, getting all the medicine you need out for treatment.
They're so mean…
Steel made from Pokemon materials has unique properties. While they suffer from similar weaknesses as the Pokemon they come from, they are also aspected to the elements around them. With the proper training, you can become even more effective at combat.
When the time calls for such a boon, you must be prepared. Spreading yourself too thin will not help you become stronger, so you have to pick your preference:
[ ] Practice with Inana when you have time.
Inana is aspected to Ice. She's the memory of Gildera, of home.
[ ] Practice with Perun when you have time.
Perun is aspected to Electric. He's a reminder of the path ahead, of Sol.
###
The tomb is massive.
So massive, in fact, that your first thought comes true. You're too tired to continue, and so you decide to camp out in the cave, to continue your journey after some rest. It's not hard to start a fire, with Ray's practically infinite supplies of minor elemental stones and some of the fungus which turns out is rather flammable.
The blue flame crackles, whipping left and right as touched by unseen wind. You see Gildera in it, the Glastrier Knights, the faces of your friends. You can see Lissy make a joke, and Silvia hitting her over the head for it. You can see Ruby cooking, their smile so bright as Redwood enjoys the meal.
You can see Capella brushing Skiddle's fur, the Murkrow feather on the horn reflecting candlelight.
"You get that look in your face sometimes," Ray says, feeding the fire some more mushrooms. "When you think of home, you look like you're far away."
She's back to usual, for now. Though she still itches to continue and rip Wilhelm's head off his shoulders, the earlier bout of joy at your expense has removed some of the tension in your group and left Ray as normal, if slightly less cheerful.
"I don't know if it was home," you say. Sophia has already fallen asleep, Cubone curled up next to her. For you, sleep does not come so easily. For Ray, it must be even harder. You can see the bags under her eyes, the tiredness that must be wreaking havoc on her mind and body. "It was, it is, my people. My dearest and most precious friends."
"Home is where your heart is, isn't that right?" Ray asks. You nod, though you see she's not looking at you at all. Her eyes are distant, much like your own must be. And even though she is right in front of you, barely an arm's length away, she feels distant. "We've not had much time to talk, so I barely know a thing about you besides the nobility thing. Well, that and your old order."
You lean back, pushing against the ground and raising your eyes to the ceiling. "You heard about the commander dying?"
"There's nobody who hasn't," Ray says, nodding. Figures, there's no way something like this could stay hidden for long. You just hope that this does not encourage the nobles of Sol to become bolder. "Was that you?"
"No," you say, your voice firm. There's no energy left in you to have a stronger reaction. Perun purrs, his head on Sophia's lap as he drifts off to sleep. "Drake adopted me when I ran away from my family. I owe him more than I could have ever repaid in one lifetime. But… When he died, what was left behind was no longer me. I ran, and I ran, and I ran. I stumbled, I fought with my best friend, and at first I thought I could turn around, but…"
"It's just not the same anymore," Ray says. You nod. "So you don't want to go back?"
"I don't know," you say. Admitting this is the hardest thing you've had to come to terms with lately. "So many things make no sense, so many circumstances have led to this journey, and every time I look back at it I don't understand how I let these things get so out of hand. At first I said it was to keep my friend safe, then I argued about my desire to wander. Now I am here helping you because I can't say no when someone needs me."
"And here I thought it was because you can't say no to a cute girl," Ray says. Her distant eyes take on some shine again. She grins at you, and you can't help but smile back. "Well, fair's fair. You want to ask me anything, Miss Aria?"
You do. It's a question you've wanted to ask since that meeting in the manor.
"Why'd you get banished?" you ask. Ray stills, no breath passing her lips as she becomes more statue than person. It takes a bit for her to answer, and you do want to know, so even as you see the conflict in her eyes you don't tell her it's fine if she doesn't want to talk about it.
"Murder," you say. It's your turn to hold your breath, waiting for her to make a joke about it, to make a mockery of you for even asking and just move on as if nothing happened. She does not, her face still dead serious as she raises it, the blue flame reflecting off her eyes make them shine green. "It's the only reason anyone really gets banished, even blasphemers are more welcome than murderers."
"That can't be the whole story, can it?" you ask. She smiles softly. "Ray?"
"My mother was a priestess," she says, taking out the key from under her collar. "In the running to become the next high priestess, even. If the person in that position is a man, they are Agamemnon. If they are a woman, then they become Cassandra. To me, she was just my mom, Mika of Olympia."
You feel a chill, as if the name had summoned ghosts of the past that now fill the void around you. You inch closer to the fire, wrapping your cloak tightly around you.
"She was beautiful, and wise, and busy all the time," she continues, "but never too busy to come and sing me a song to help me fall asleep."
You don't know why, but you can feel wetness in your eyes. The heat of the fire must be drying them out.
"One day, my uncle came to me." Ray holds up her hands, tracing her fingers over the fire, drawing an image only she can see. "He says 'Ray, your mother needs your help' and I jump up, ready to do whatever she needs me to do. You see, these keys here, they're given to the two candidates. My mother was one, my uncle the other. The third key is held by the eldest cleric, who passes it on before death. It's a balance of power, safety and trust. That way, no one person has the ability to open the vault where the artifacts lie."
You've heard of similar systems before, though the meticulousness feels largely over the top. What would stop someone from simply killing those three and taking it? That's—hm.
"High Priest Agamemnon was… your uncle?" you ask. You try not to frown, you really do, but your mouth hangs open loosely and your eyes are still stinging. Ray nods. What a mess.
"The high priest gives one key to the youngest cleric." She draws that image again, and you really wish you could see through her eyes right now. "They keep the other key for ten years. That is how long Raikou stayed at the temple after killing the demon."
"Then he picks a candidate?" you ask. She nods.
"He gives his key to the person that should succeed him," she says. "So we have two candidates. The youngest cleric at the time, my uncle, who had years to become worthy of the mantle. And the person who the high priest favored, my mother. In the end, the choice is left to the temple. Everyone has a vote, even the children who haven't yet become clerics or priests."
That's one way to create resentment. While it's above you to complain about the ridiculous ways of an old faith, and the rather convoluted ways they choose a successor, it does feel unfortunate that it was siblings who had to fight for the position.
There's a different kind of ache in your heart when you think about fighting your brother.
"My uncle held all three keys on that day, he stole the others." She stops tracing that picture, her hand clenching into a fist above the fire. It flickers away for a moment, then appears again. "He said she needed the staff from the vault to… to be acknowledged as high priestess. So he sent me to get it. He gave me all the keys and sent me on my way in the middle of the night."
That explains her fury about the staff. You can imagine where the story goes from here, but you don't interrupt her. Ray looks almost relieved to tell it, as if it finally has to come out. You know that feeling, after all. To finally tell someone your truth.
"When I got to the vault, nobody was there. Usually there's guards there, but on that day there was a smell in the air and nothing else. So when I entered the vault, nothing seemed off. I got the staff, and my mother caught me."
She laughs, short and wistful.
"She was so angry, I've never been scolded by her before. I let go of the staff, and it exploded on the ground. Electricity everywhere, so much power, so much… destruction. All of it."
"That's… an accident, that's not murder, Ray."
"Maybe not. My uncle was made high priest so quickly, and then when they held a tribunal, he was the one that said I was just a child, they couldn't execute me. So they banished me. In the same vein, as a child, my imagination must be running wild. My uncle? Stealing all the keys and sending me to get the ancient relic? Whatever for, he was going to be high priest anyway! My mother never had a chance."
"Nobody asked how the keys got in your possession?"
"Nobody cared, some said my mother was the one trying to steal the staff, most quietly swept it under the rug," she says. "Because the only candidate left was my uncle, and anyone who opposes him when he just ascended will have a difficult life. They closed their eyes and ears, they sewed their mouths shut. They all knew it was true, they all knew he was responsible, they just didn't care enough about my mother to fight back."
"I'm sorry," you say. You don't know what else you can add. You don't know what to say and how to say it so you can touch someone's heart and take away even a fraction of that grief you can see on her face. "Even if your uncle paid for this with his life, I know it is too little and too late. I'm truly sorry this happened to you, Ray."
"Yeah, well," Ray says. You can see how a joke forms on her tongue, how easy it would be for her to dismiss your words and try to continue as if she hasn't just shared the most intimate details of her life with you. She doesn't. She simply nods. "Thank you, Aria. For listening, and everything else."
You move over to her, reaching out for a moment before pulling your arms back. You don't know what you're thinking, but it seems like your motion was enough to take care of the rest. Ray buries her head in your chest, her arms wrapping around you so tightly you wouldn't be able to remove her without maximum effort.
"That staff has to be locked away," she whispers. Her shoulders are shaking. "Promise me, Aria. Promise we'll succeed."
"I promise," you say, putting your arms around her. "We'll beat the shit out of that asshole and get it back."
There is no way you can't now, not when you know just what kind of reason she has. Even if you didn't hate Wilhelm with your entire being, you'd still kick that man's ass for Ray.
You have forged a new bond.
Even a corrupt institution could not shake her faith, which she shared with her mother. Her uncle banished her, for as corrupt and disgusting as he was, he still could not bring himself to call for the execution of his own niece.
That she stole away with one of the keys became apparent only later. Even back then, Ray was quite quick with her fingers. She will be a valuable friend and ally in the days to come.
The way up is treacherous. Your partners are still up there, likely following the path down to find you the same way as you are going to meet them. There's multiple paths, Cubone says. She draws on the ground with her club, revealing…
[ ] … the path to the left contains a dangerous dragon-like Pokemon.
[ ] … the path to the right contains a dangerous ninja-like Pokemon.
[ ] … the path to the middle contains a dangerous dinosaur-like Pokemon.
Aria Uses Lightning Blade...
Vote closed
Update 16: Be Proud
Elpis
Ostensibly Hope
- Location
- Berlin
[X] Practice with Inana when you have
[X] … the path to the left contains a dangerous dragon-like Pokemon.
###
The knowledge that the walls around you are not simply a temple or a city, but a tomb, makes the experience much harder to swallow in retrospect. If you're not careful, it might become your tomb as well, joining that giant something that was murdered by Raikou and the first Olympians in eternal slumber when your journey has only just begun.
Your hands are still twitching, streaks of black burns over your fingers announcing that Silvia was absolutely right and continues to be right about using techniques one wasn't practiced in. You'll see about getting that practice in for sure now, though perhaps starting with Inana. That's both less likely to blow up in your face and immediately more useful.
Cubone's still leading you forward, her tiny hands holding the bone club with such confidence. You can see the joy in her eyes when Sophia 'aaahhhs' and 'ohhhs' at her excellent navigation skills. The path you picked is warmer than the others, to the point where you feel uncomfortable.
You never thought you'd miss the Gilderan winter, but here you are.
"Ray," Sophia speaks up, causing the girl to glare up at her. "The way you fight isn't really conventional, is it? That's not something you learned at the temple, I reckon."
"It's not," she says, shrugging her shoulders. "Sol is not a country where someone can travel by themselves if they don't know how to fight. I learned on the go."
"Still," you join in, "the amount of stones you have hidden in your robes can't have come cheap."
"They're not real stones, they're… simulacra," she says. She pats down on her sleeve, and a lightning stone falls out. Holding it up against the light of the fungus, you can see its green sheen, the 'lightning in a bottle' spark in the middle. It's a bit paler than the ones you've seen before, but besides that nothing about it screams imitation. "The right kind of quartz can be filled with elemental energy, lightning is easier to me than anything else."
She throws it at you, forcing you to catch it. You can see the impurities on closer inspection, it feels much lighter than a real stone for sure.
"Fascinating." You squeeze the quartz slightly, and it does release some sparks into your already burned hands. Ignoring the sting, it could break easily with just the slightest amount of pressure. "I don't know if you're brave or stupid, Ray. If you walk around with these all over your body, isn't there a risk if you're hit?"
"I simply don't get hit," Ray says. You try not to comment about her own inability to fight Wilhelm before he disposed of you so easily, but the look in your eyes must've been enough for her. "That asshole doesn't count."
"Sure he doesn't," you say, throwing the quartz back to her. She grumbles as she puts the stone away.
"Elementalism," Sophia says. You ears perk up at the word. It's something you've read about in Lissy's book. Some of the heroic figures were said to control powers similar to Pokemon, either through prayer or through sacred objects. "Like in those children's books?"
"They're not fairy tales—" "They're not just for children!"
Ray and you speak at the same time, and she cuts herself off, giving Sophia a mean look. While you understand her anger and worries, her attitude has started to sour again as the trip up starts to take longer than expected. Unfortunately you can't attempt another attack like before to make her laugh right now.
"There's some people with certain dispositions," Ray says. She holds her hand up, and you can see just the tiniest bit of lightning in the air around her fingers. "Born on certain days, in certain places, or just some freak accident. Those who have caught the attention of deities, or powerful demons. They're not that rare either, you can't tell me you've never met anyone like me in Gildera."
You stop walking, giving Sophia a glance. She frowns, crossing her arms as she leans against the wall. It explains the strange energy you keep feeling when you touch Ray, she isn't just charged from all the stones she wears. That energy, it comes from her?
"No," you say, and Sophia shakes her head as well. "What you're describing is practically magic, isn't it?"
"And the deeds of legends aren't? You just charged a sword with so much electricity it could've cut the stars from the sky."
That's different, isn't it?
That's just the right amount of energy in the right mineral, it's practically science!
It's… "Magic." The word tastes wrong on your tongue. As if fantasy has become reality in ways that even the deeds of ancient kings and heroes could not properly manifest in front of your eyes. But more than that, if not uncommon, why does Gildera not have people like this?
Are Solians really that different? Does living under the gaze of the Sun God grant blessings that those banished to darkness cannot hold in their soul?
"I really don't understand why you're surprised," Ray says, her earlier irritation once more slipping away to ponder with you as Cubone looks up at Sophia, confused. "Aren't you the same, Aria?"
Are you?
You think, and think, and think, but nothing seems to stand out. Except—
"I was never an early bird," you say, frowning. "But since coming to Sol, I wake up when the sun comes up. That's the only thing that's changed, really."
"That's one of those things," Ray says, nodding. Sophia's eyebrows rise, and the way she looks at you, as if there's something new and exciting, makes you shrink into yourself. "I don't think it's the blood that does it either, I've met Gilderans before with eyes like yours."
"Maybe it's the geography then," Sophia suggests. Your frown is stuck on your face now. "Elysium is the land of the gods, and Gildera… Gildera was punished by Kael. Maybe as long as they're stuck there, they can't truly be blessed by the sun and the sky."
It makes a disgusting amount of sense and suddenly turns your view of the whole conflict into a minor puzzle piece. Is the greed of man that Redwood was so convinced of something so much more than land and wealth?
"Or perhaps it's numbers," Ray says, shrugging at Sophia's reasoning. "In terms of population, Sol as a whole dwarfs Gildera, so finding people like me is more rare. Though I wasn't born like this, it's something that happened… after."
Freak accidents, right. You imagine it might have to do with the staff, or perhaps with what the accident did to Ray's mother. Perhaps that scar Drake left on Kael's Stand was not made by Typhon alone.
"What do I feel like?" you ask, grabbing Ray's hand. Sophia makes a choked sound, her eyebrows quickly furrowing in discontent. Ray looks surprised for a moment as that spark that happens whenever you touch jolts her to attention. "You feel like electricity, like my hair will start floating if I keep holding you. What about me?"
Ray looks unenthusiastic, but unwilling to fight you on this. Instead, she closes her eyes and concentrates. You see sweat on her brow after a moment, and the next spark causes your hand and hers to fly apart, not forceful enough to hurt but like magnets of the same polarity trying to meet in the middle.
"It feels like…" she tries to find words, opening and closing her mouth a few times before hooking her index fingers together, trying to pull them apart. "Like a tug of war. It's not some element, so I can't really put it into words."
A tug of war.
And though her own words fail her, you find that it explains more than you had hoped for. The world that you left behind and the world that is ahead of you are both part of what makes you whole, so perhaps whatever power is held in your soul, or heart, or mind, is tied to that divide.
"What about me?" Sophia asks, holding her hand up. Ray sighs, grabbing the hand softly. After just a few seconds, Ray lets go. "Nothing?"
"Nothing," Ray says. "It's really not a big deal for the most part, some people are good at certain things. I once met a man blessed by a wood spirit that could grow any plant in any season, most of these blessings are very minor."
Sophia still looks kind of sad. Her shoulders slump down, but before you could try to cheer her up, Cubone pokes her with the club, holding up her tiny hand. Sophia takes it, holding on with a single finger, and bending down so Cubone does not have to stand on tiptoes.
O Aria, whose blood mixes like the rivers Styx and Lethe, what pulls you apart?
The eyes on you are numerous, and your choices determine your fate more than any gods ever could.
While it is too early to truly decide what world opens up to you, you can learn more about this. Ray is a scholar as much as she is a priestess, and surely will not mind speaking to you about the various gods of the Elysian continent.
You decide to ask about…
[ ] The Dark King, whose name will forever be synonymous with the desecration of bonds.
[ ] The Skywrath Sovereign, patron of the Gilderan bloodline, defender of the sky between mountains.
This is something you can work on when you go back to Gildera and pick Skiddle up.
[ ] The Sun God, the patron of the Solian bloodline, who blesses the sky all over the continent.
[ ] The Twins, whose cries echo across aeons and whose temples are far to the west.
###
This is not just a cave anymore. This is a temple, plain to see. A massive gate stops you, the language of the mural painted on it. Ray looks tense as her eyes trail over the writing.
"Careful," she says. Your hand moves towards your sword, and Perun looks up at the ceiling. You can see something up there, hidden in the darkness where the fungus can't reach. "There's a guardian here. I can't read the rest, it's too—"
You grab Ray by the collar and drag her out of the way as fire comes from above. Sophia draws her sword, Cubone jumping on top of the blade before she swings it with a force that breaks the earth under her feet. Cubone goes flying, her club slamming into a part of the ceiling and breaking off stone.
Behind that stone, as if buried by it, is something big, scaly, and orange. The hole it used to breathe fire from begins to crack apart and reveal a Charizard, massive in size, and very unhappy at being woken up. Sophia catches Cubone, dodging the strong gust of wind that Charizard summons with its wings.
You draw your blade, pushing Ray behind you. Charizard descends without any intention to break its fall, feet slamming into the ground until the entire cave begins to shake. Its tail flame is bright blue, even as the flames between its fangs are angry red.
Cubone raises her hands up, saying something to the Charizard, and for just one moment the big lizard hesitates. Cubone jumps out of Sophia's arms, approaching slowly.
A moment later, it swings its body around and knocks Cubone back. Sophia catches Cubone again, her displeasure obvious as she points the sword at it.
Charizard opens its mouth, but instead of flames, a sound comes out that sounds almost like… language?
Ray perks up, and walks forward even as Perun tries to pull her back by the hem of her robes. She looks… focused. Too focused for you to interrupt whatever is going on. She turns her head towards you. "It says that we're trespassing."
"You can understand it?" Sophia asks. You blink. Somehow, you can understand that it's speaking something that a human must have spoken, a long, long time ago.
Yet the language is not common Elysian, and so you cannot understand it whatsoever. At least you have Ray with you.
"Can you answer it?" you ask. Ray shakes her head.
"I can barely understand it, nevermind speaking. Maybe it can understand us like this, though."
Pokemon are very empathetic creatures, so it's worth a try. You sheathe your sword, raising your hands and addressing the Charizard.
"We didn't come here on purpose," you say. Cubone, injured but not unhappy, chirps up in confirmation to your words. "A man is using a powerful weapon to do something on the upper floors, he trapped us down here when we tried to stop him."
Charizard speaks again.
"Hallowed grounds," Ray says in translation. "Warriors who deserve peace. Something about… about graverobbing? We're not graverobbers, ancient guardian! We're victims of circumstance—"
Charizard roars. The sound echoes around you with a force that makes you lose your balance, your hands slapping over your ears. Perun roars back, not quite as loud, but still brave.
You draw your blade again, trying to ignore the pain shooting up your arm as you grip the hilt tightly. "Fine then, this is not gonna be pleasant."
Charizard agrees, which is why it aims at Ray first. You grab her shoulder and she spins with you, crushing a gem in front of her to cause a flash behind you. The flash blinds the guardian, giving you enough time to bring your sword up, catching its claws. Though strong, the lack of proper swing due to the flashbang gives you enough leverage to hold it in place for Perun to come down, stabbing its frills into its chest.
A flash of lightning later and Charizard takes a few steps back, flying up to create some distance. Cubone swings at it, but fails to hit. She climbs up Sophia's shoulder, shouting something.
Charizard says something in response, and Ray looks vaguely uncomfortable.
"I'm not going to translate that," she says, taking more of the quartz out of her robes. "Aria, you got a plan?"
"Working on it," you say, holding your sword ready. Charizard does not make the same mistake twice, gathering flames in its mouth to spew from above instead of getting in close. The fire hits the ground where the Charizard stood, and then starts to move towards you. You jump to the right, rolling in the dirt to get out of the way. It singes your fancy new robe, and even Perun looks a bit miffed by the heat after its frill is caught in the intense wave.
You look around. If you can't ground that monster, there's no way you'll win this. Retreating could work, but that'll just set you back further. You're not one to run from your troubles, not if the only way forward is through that damn gate.
"Catch me when I fall," Ray says. You blink, opening your mouth to ask her what the hell she's talking about.
You don't get the chance.
Ray grabs something from the back of her robes, where you can see a large pocket she must hide some of the things she needs for her sleight of hand tricks. It's another stone, though this one does not look like quartz. Even in the distance, it feels cold and airy, like a deep breath in the woods of Gildera.
She slams the stone down, and a gust of wind sends her up into the air. Charizard… looks just as stunned as you are. Ray ends up shooting toward it like an arrow, barely missing it before slowing down towards the ceiling. Charizard, having dodged, moves to attack you again.
Ray comes down holding a lightning stone in her hand and pushes it into the Charizard's wings.
A loud bang, and Charizard begins to tumble down. Ray falls as well, and just like she had requested, you catch her, bending down slightly to cushion her. Charizard is clearly irritated at the attack, but cannot fly up again, one of its wings clearly injured by the very effective priestess.
"Up top!" Sophia shouts. You see her and Cubone working together, coming down on Charizard with their weapons. The wings come together to form a shield around it, and though the sword is sharp and strong, the scales on this ancient guardian do not give in to human weapons or tiny Pokemon attacks.
The wings unfurl, sending another gust of wind out. Sophia and Cubone fly backwards, to your left and right as you let Ray down. You move your hand behind your back, grabbing your shield.
You see glint in its eyes. Something primal, and dangerous. You see the bright idea forming, and you know there's no way you can dodge what comes next.
Which is unfortunate because you don't think you can block it either. Charizard opens its maw wide and you see something come out of it. Not fire, but something that makes the air all hazy. It raises its head up, its tail coming all the way up to meet it.
Its mouth ignites into blue flames.
Cubone stands in front of you, quickly slamming its club into the ground. A wall of dirt shoots up, hardening along the edges. Sophia and Ray push up next to you, and you can see Charizard blow its flames onto the ground, creating a ring around it that expands outward until it hits the wall of dirt.
You push your shield against it, holding on as Cubone looks worried its wall will not hold. Sophia and Ray help you as the heat crawls around you, their hands on your back, giving you support even as everything in front of you threatens to crumble.
"It's like a tug of war," you hear the echoes of your earlier conversation. Fear grips your heart. You cannot let it end here, you cannot lose to something like this.
You cannot lose to someone like Wilhelm.
So you let go of your sword and put your hand around your shield arm, pushing with your entire body against the overwhelming pressure.
"Hey, Drake?"
"Yes, child?"
"How did you get so strong?"
You roar with energy you don't have, a powerful feeling welling up in your chest as the world around you descends into a haze. The edges of your vision turn black, you can feel bits of your clothes singed even as Ray scrambles to use water stones to dampen your environment.
"You might not like the answer."
Your voice becomes louder than the flames. Though all the strength in your body is not enough, you cannot accept giving up. If that light in you is not burning bright enough, you have to make it radiant. You cannot let this be the end. You cannot let this be the end.
You cannot let this be the end.
"The right motivation makes us surpass our limits, Aria. I cannot say what works for me will work for you."
You let go of your arm, crossing your arms behind the shield instead. The world around you becomes fire, and in that crucible you have to become someone Drake would be proud of. Someone your grandmother would love to meet again in the Elysian fields. Someone who always holds her head high.
"I will always be proud of you, Aria." - "You're a good child, Aria." - "Courage. Wisdom. Power. Hope. Faith. Love."
Silence.
Your mouth is still wide open, and you scream at the top of your lungs, but you cannot hear anything. You stand in the shadows as the sun rises in front of you. But it's not the shade you should be cast in.
The wall of dirt explodes, unable to withstand the heat any longer. The pressure, however, is gone. You see the path ahead, the light and the obstacle that casts it. The water stone explodes at the same time, creating just enough water to stop the heat for a single second.
You throw your shield, hitting Charizard's snout with a force that snaps its mouth shut. The heat cuts off immediately, and though some of it still hits your group it does not burn you to cinders, leaving burns that you can treat afterwards.
The sound returns, and your feet do not stop. You hit the ground running, catching the shield with both hands as it comes down and slamming it on the Charizard's head as it still reels from the sudden interruption. You do it again, and again, and again. Though what is now victim of your violence is a powerful and large Pokemon, which seems mostly annoyed rather than genuinely injured, you are reminded of that asshole in the woods.
Only it's not a Tediursa on the line this time, it's your friends, your partners, and your own life.
Charizard recovers and knocks you back with a swipe of its claws, cutting the surface of your belly as you try to get out of the way.
Sophia swoops in, using her own blade to stop the followup attack and getting knocked down right next to you. It roars at you. You roar back, unable to find a human way to express yourself as your tongue lies heavy in your mouth.
Ray throws another one of those flying stones, this time between you and the Charizard. The strong wind drags you away from your opponent. You scramble for your sword, still hot to the touch, and point it at Charizard. Perun barks up at you, and you give him a nod.
But then—
A loud slam. Dust and dirt knocked from the door. Charizard… stops. It turns around, looking at the door in clear confusion. After a moment of silence, another loud bang. Something behind it slams against it with an absurd force.
You'd have taken the time to take a cheap shot at it, but the next slam makes it panic. It flies at the door, trying to hold it shut. Though menacing and powerful, it looks genuinely lost as the door is slowly being pried open.
Another slam causes the… hinges? To fail. You're not sure if it has hinges, probably some sort of locking mechanism using stones and gears from the inside. The door slams open with a force that knocks Charizard back. It opens to reveal the heroes of the hour.
Spring is on top of Tauros' back, using his vines to hold tight onto its horns. Inana is right in front of him, holding onto the vines and pulling on them, steering the rather dangerous bull.
Gumi is there, too, cheering from behind. Tauros… looks absolutely exhausted. It is injured, from the fight against the three no doubt, and now the slamming against the door with all its might even broke off part of its right horn. It falls down, unable to stay conscious.
Charizard looks lost, and you can't help but laugh in joy as Inana meets your gaze.
"Inana!" you shout, smiling. "Perun!"
They react without any more words. Inana joins the fight with a powerful kick on Charizard's shoulder, where the wing meets its back, and Perun shoots forward a charged beam of lightning as that one moment of inattention gives you the upper hand.
Charizard roars in pain, and gets ready to retaliate.
Which is why the rest of the gang joins in. You can see Ray throwing Gumi one of the quartzes, and Gumi bites down on it, supercharged with so much electricity it begins to glow blue.
"Spring!" Sophia shots. "Hold it down!"
Before Charizard can recover, Spring's vines wrap around it. Gumi begins to run around the room, taking time to build momentum before slamming into Charizard with a force that knocks the poor wanna-be-dragon into a wall, all that electricity paralyzing it.
The final blow comes from Cubone, who looks towards Sophia first for approval. She smiles, pointing at the still twitching Charizard with her sword.
"Winter," she names the little guide. "Get even."
Winter the Cubone stabs her club into the ground and pulls it out like a sword, rocks stuck to it to make a rather interesting mace. She slams the mace on Charizard's head, knocking it out. The fight is over, and you breathe a sigh of relief.
Ray falls to her knees. You'd do the same, but Inana decides to jump at you with a force that knocks you onto your back instead. You wince, too happy to be bothered by the pain.
"Did you miss me?" you ask. Inana seems to notice what she's doing, jumping off you and crossing her arms, clicking her tongue. Perun stands next to her, imitating the pose and clicking his tongue as well, clearly mocking his senior. Inana swipes at him, and Perun dodges, laughing loudly at the now upset mustelid.
The relief is short-lived as something moves in the corner of your vision. Charizard stands up again, but this time, all the energy leaves you. You can no longer stand up, your hand will not be able to hold that shield again.
Winter says something to the guardian again, and your vision starts to darken.
###
Drake stands tall, as he always does. His vigil never ends, and though he always looks like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, and his eyes grow ever distant, you wish to share his burdens.
Capella is currently being punished, leaving you two alone just weeks after you entered the Caer to become aspirants. The way she spoke to your teacher means a good week of cleaning duties, which have to be fulfilled after everyone is already turning in for the night.
There were strong words about that too, which just means that the punishment was extended by another week.
Drake simply laughed when he heard, softly like he always does, not loud or boasting. Not like other knights. He never was like anyone you've ever met before.
"You look like you want to ask me something," he says. One of his hands holds some hard wood, the other a dull knife. Though the blade is gone and attempts to sharpen it have failed, it still remains the thing that he uses to carve things. It's one of his important heirlooms, he once said. All the things that the princess of Gildera gave him while he served her dutifully were precious to him.
"You are strong," you say, and his hand stills. "You are stronger than anyone, aren't you?"
"I don't know if that's true," he says, his voice low and full of something you have never felt before. Something that he always feels when his eyes grow distant. Something you know one day will be longing, as Capella described it. "I am strong, child. Stronger than many, but even I have things I cannot do."
"You can't carve the mountains between borders," you say, nodding. He smiles at you. "And you can't really cook either."
"Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses," he says. "But there are three things a knight needs to be a knight, in abundance."
"Courage. Wisdom. Power."
He nods. "They're the pillars of chivalry, a union of all that makes me whole. But they're not all that makes a person, because we are more than just knights."
"Hope. Faith. Love."
He nods again. "All desires are linked to these. Some yearn for them, some yearn for too much, some yearn for so little they become shells of themselves."
You try to understand, and though you know this kind of conversation would be harder if you had not grown up with the likes of the Flambergs, it is still not something you can grasp with the experiences you have now.
"How did you get this strong?"
It's a question you've asked before, when you saw him swing his sword once to defeat a dozen bandits. He did not answer then.
"You might not like the answer," he says, and you pout, unwilling to let his habit of cryptic reasoning be the end of this conversation. His hands begin moving again, carving into the wood and slowly revealing the form of a Psyduck. "The truth is, I can't tell you for sure. The right motivation makes us surpass our limits, Aria. I cannot say what works for me will work for you."
"What did work for you then?" You move up to him, your hand coming up to the carving, your fingers holding the dull knife until he finally looks at you properly. "What do I need to do to become someone you can be proud of?"
"I will always be proud of you, Aria," he says, putting his tools on the table. He takes your hands into his, so big that a single one could wrap around both of yours. "What's important isn't how other people feel about you, but how you feel about yourself. Become someone you can be proud of, and I will forever be happy that we have met."
This is Drake. He is tall, and imposing, and his scars look scary.
But the biggest part of him is his heart. With a love so great that it would shame even Aphrodite, who inside of her could only hold the affection for a single world.
"One day you'll realize that I am not such a great man," he says, as if reading your mind. You blush, your thoughts ever obvious on your face. "If you find you can forgive me for not living up to your expectations, I believe it'd be my turn to turn red."
You laugh, ignoring the stinging in your eyes.
###
You have surpassed the Guardian of the Tomb. While your deeds will not reach the ears of the people, the world knows of your strength. To surpass impossible odds requires impossible ambitions. Drake's strength was born from his desire to keep the princess safe, and though you know he would have never admitted it, it was out of love.
As Drake once said, all three things are necessary. You are not really just a knight anymore, you don't only deal in chivalry, because chivalry is just too small for what lies ahead. You are Aria—
[ ] ...the Hopeful.
Not for the future, but for here and now. Not the knowledge but the instinct that everything will be alright as long as you keep your head up and face the world.
[ ] ...the Faithful.
No, not the faith in gods. The faith in people, in yourself. In your deeds, in your kindness that nobody can see, and the kindness in others that you wish to reveal.
[ ] ...the Loving.
Not for a person, but for the world around you. Drake loved a single woman so much that nothing in the world could stop him. Have you ever loved so much it hurts?
[X] … the path to the left contains a dangerous dragon-like Pokemon.
###
The knowledge that the walls around you are not simply a temple or a city, but a tomb, makes the experience much harder to swallow in retrospect. If you're not careful, it might become your tomb as well, joining that giant something that was murdered by Raikou and the first Olympians in eternal slumber when your journey has only just begun.
Your hands are still twitching, streaks of black burns over your fingers announcing that Silvia was absolutely right and continues to be right about using techniques one wasn't practiced in. You'll see about getting that practice in for sure now, though perhaps starting with Inana. That's both less likely to blow up in your face and immediately more useful.
Cubone's still leading you forward, her tiny hands holding the bone club with such confidence. You can see the joy in her eyes when Sophia 'aaahhhs' and 'ohhhs' at her excellent navigation skills. The path you picked is warmer than the others, to the point where you feel uncomfortable.
You never thought you'd miss the Gilderan winter, but here you are.
"Ray," Sophia speaks up, causing the girl to glare up at her. "The way you fight isn't really conventional, is it? That's not something you learned at the temple, I reckon."
"It's not," she says, shrugging her shoulders. "Sol is not a country where someone can travel by themselves if they don't know how to fight. I learned on the go."
"Still," you join in, "the amount of stones you have hidden in your robes can't have come cheap."
"They're not real stones, they're… simulacra," she says. She pats down on her sleeve, and a lightning stone falls out. Holding it up against the light of the fungus, you can see its green sheen, the 'lightning in a bottle' spark in the middle. It's a bit paler than the ones you've seen before, but besides that nothing about it screams imitation. "The right kind of quartz can be filled with elemental energy, lightning is easier to me than anything else."
She throws it at you, forcing you to catch it. You can see the impurities on closer inspection, it feels much lighter than a real stone for sure.
"Fascinating." You squeeze the quartz slightly, and it does release some sparks into your already burned hands. Ignoring the sting, it could break easily with just the slightest amount of pressure. "I don't know if you're brave or stupid, Ray. If you walk around with these all over your body, isn't there a risk if you're hit?"
"I simply don't get hit," Ray says. You try not to comment about her own inability to fight Wilhelm before he disposed of you so easily, but the look in your eyes must've been enough for her. "That asshole doesn't count."
"Sure he doesn't," you say, throwing the quartz back to her. She grumbles as she puts the stone away.
"Elementalism," Sophia says. You ears perk up at the word. It's something you've read about in Lissy's book. Some of the heroic figures were said to control powers similar to Pokemon, either through prayer or through sacred objects. "Like in those children's books?"
"They're not fairy tales—" "They're not just for children!"
Ray and you speak at the same time, and she cuts herself off, giving Sophia a mean look. While you understand her anger and worries, her attitude has started to sour again as the trip up starts to take longer than expected. Unfortunately you can't attempt another attack like before to make her laugh right now.
"There's some people with certain dispositions," Ray says. She holds her hand up, and you can see just the tiniest bit of lightning in the air around her fingers. "Born on certain days, in certain places, or just some freak accident. Those who have caught the attention of deities, or powerful demons. They're not that rare either, you can't tell me you've never met anyone like me in Gildera."
You stop walking, giving Sophia a glance. She frowns, crossing her arms as she leans against the wall. It explains the strange energy you keep feeling when you touch Ray, she isn't just charged from all the stones she wears. That energy, it comes from her?
"No," you say, and Sophia shakes her head as well. "What you're describing is practically magic, isn't it?"
"And the deeds of legends aren't? You just charged a sword with so much electricity it could've cut the stars from the sky."
That's different, isn't it?
That's just the right amount of energy in the right mineral, it's practically science!
It's… "Magic." The word tastes wrong on your tongue. As if fantasy has become reality in ways that even the deeds of ancient kings and heroes could not properly manifest in front of your eyes. But more than that, if not uncommon, why does Gildera not have people like this?
Are Solians really that different? Does living under the gaze of the Sun God grant blessings that those banished to darkness cannot hold in their soul?
"I really don't understand why you're surprised," Ray says, her earlier irritation once more slipping away to ponder with you as Cubone looks up at Sophia, confused. "Aren't you the same, Aria?"
Are you?
You think, and think, and think, but nothing seems to stand out. Except—
"I was never an early bird," you say, frowning. "But since coming to Sol, I wake up when the sun comes up. That's the only thing that's changed, really."
"That's one of those things," Ray says, nodding. Sophia's eyebrows rise, and the way she looks at you, as if there's something new and exciting, makes you shrink into yourself. "I don't think it's the blood that does it either, I've met Gilderans before with eyes like yours."
"Maybe it's the geography then," Sophia suggests. Your frown is stuck on your face now. "Elysium is the land of the gods, and Gildera… Gildera was punished by Kael. Maybe as long as they're stuck there, they can't truly be blessed by the sun and the sky."
It makes a disgusting amount of sense and suddenly turns your view of the whole conflict into a minor puzzle piece. Is the greed of man that Redwood was so convinced of something so much more than land and wealth?
"Or perhaps it's numbers," Ray says, shrugging at Sophia's reasoning. "In terms of population, Sol as a whole dwarfs Gildera, so finding people like me is more rare. Though I wasn't born like this, it's something that happened… after."
Freak accidents, right. You imagine it might have to do with the staff, or perhaps with what the accident did to Ray's mother. Perhaps that scar Drake left on Kael's Stand was not made by Typhon alone.
"What do I feel like?" you ask, grabbing Ray's hand. Sophia makes a choked sound, her eyebrows quickly furrowing in discontent. Ray looks surprised for a moment as that spark that happens whenever you touch jolts her to attention. "You feel like electricity, like my hair will start floating if I keep holding you. What about me?"
Ray looks unenthusiastic, but unwilling to fight you on this. Instead, she closes her eyes and concentrates. You see sweat on her brow after a moment, and the next spark causes your hand and hers to fly apart, not forceful enough to hurt but like magnets of the same polarity trying to meet in the middle.
"It feels like…" she tries to find words, opening and closing her mouth a few times before hooking her index fingers together, trying to pull them apart. "Like a tug of war. It's not some element, so I can't really put it into words."
A tug of war.
And though her own words fail her, you find that it explains more than you had hoped for. The world that you left behind and the world that is ahead of you are both part of what makes you whole, so perhaps whatever power is held in your soul, or heart, or mind, is tied to that divide.
"What about me?" Sophia asks, holding her hand up. Ray sighs, grabbing the hand softly. After just a few seconds, Ray lets go. "Nothing?"
"Nothing," Ray says. "It's really not a big deal for the most part, some people are good at certain things. I once met a man blessed by a wood spirit that could grow any plant in any season, most of these blessings are very minor."
Sophia still looks kind of sad. Her shoulders slump down, but before you could try to cheer her up, Cubone pokes her with the club, holding up her tiny hand. Sophia takes it, holding on with a single finger, and bending down so Cubone does not have to stand on tiptoes.
O Aria, whose blood mixes like the rivers Styx and Lethe, what pulls you apart?
The eyes on you are numerous, and your choices determine your fate more than any gods ever could.
While it is too early to truly decide what world opens up to you, you can learn more about this. Ray is a scholar as much as she is a priestess, and surely will not mind speaking to you about the various gods of the Elysian continent.
You decide to ask about…
[ ] The Dark King, whose name will forever be synonymous with the desecration of bonds.
This is something you can work on when you go back to Gildera and pick Skiddle up.
[ ] The Sun God, the patron of the Solian bloodline, who blesses the sky all over the continent.
[ ] The Twins, whose cries echo across aeons and whose temples are far to the west.
###
This is not just a cave anymore. This is a temple, plain to see. A massive gate stops you, the language of the mural painted on it. Ray looks tense as her eyes trail over the writing.
"Careful," she says. Your hand moves towards your sword, and Perun looks up at the ceiling. You can see something up there, hidden in the darkness where the fungus can't reach. "There's a guardian here. I can't read the rest, it's too—"
You grab Ray by the collar and drag her out of the way as fire comes from above. Sophia draws her sword, Cubone jumping on top of the blade before she swings it with a force that breaks the earth under her feet. Cubone goes flying, her club slamming into a part of the ceiling and breaking off stone.
Behind that stone, as if buried by it, is something big, scaly, and orange. The hole it used to breathe fire from begins to crack apart and reveal a Charizard, massive in size, and very unhappy at being woken up. Sophia catches Cubone, dodging the strong gust of wind that Charizard summons with its wings.
You draw your blade, pushing Ray behind you. Charizard descends without any intention to break its fall, feet slamming into the ground until the entire cave begins to shake. Its tail flame is bright blue, even as the flames between its fangs are angry red.
Cubone raises her hands up, saying something to the Charizard, and for just one moment the big lizard hesitates. Cubone jumps out of Sophia's arms, approaching slowly.
A moment later, it swings its body around and knocks Cubone back. Sophia catches Cubone again, her displeasure obvious as she points the sword at it.
Charizard opens its mouth, but instead of flames, a sound comes out that sounds almost like… language?
Ray perks up, and walks forward even as Perun tries to pull her back by the hem of her robes. She looks… focused. Too focused for you to interrupt whatever is going on. She turns her head towards you. "It says that we're trespassing."
"You can understand it?" Sophia asks. You blink. Somehow, you can understand that it's speaking something that a human must have spoken, a long, long time ago.
Yet the language is not common Elysian, and so you cannot understand it whatsoever. At least you have Ray with you.
"Can you answer it?" you ask. Ray shakes her head.
"I can barely understand it, nevermind speaking. Maybe it can understand us like this, though."
Pokemon are very empathetic creatures, so it's worth a try. You sheathe your sword, raising your hands and addressing the Charizard.
"We didn't come here on purpose," you say. Cubone, injured but not unhappy, chirps up in confirmation to your words. "A man is using a powerful weapon to do something on the upper floors, he trapped us down here when we tried to stop him."
Charizard speaks again.
"Hallowed grounds," Ray says in translation. "Warriors who deserve peace. Something about… about graverobbing? We're not graverobbers, ancient guardian! We're victims of circumstance—"
Charizard roars. The sound echoes around you with a force that makes you lose your balance, your hands slapping over your ears. Perun roars back, not quite as loud, but still brave.
You draw your blade again, trying to ignore the pain shooting up your arm as you grip the hilt tightly. "Fine then, this is not gonna be pleasant."
Charizard agrees, which is why it aims at Ray first. You grab her shoulder and she spins with you, crushing a gem in front of her to cause a flash behind you. The flash blinds the guardian, giving you enough time to bring your sword up, catching its claws. Though strong, the lack of proper swing due to the flashbang gives you enough leverage to hold it in place for Perun to come down, stabbing its frills into its chest.
A flash of lightning later and Charizard takes a few steps back, flying up to create some distance. Cubone swings at it, but fails to hit. She climbs up Sophia's shoulder, shouting something.
Charizard says something in response, and Ray looks vaguely uncomfortable.
"I'm not going to translate that," she says, taking more of the quartz out of her robes. "Aria, you got a plan?"
"Working on it," you say, holding your sword ready. Charizard does not make the same mistake twice, gathering flames in its mouth to spew from above instead of getting in close. The fire hits the ground where the Charizard stood, and then starts to move towards you. You jump to the right, rolling in the dirt to get out of the way. It singes your fancy new robe, and even Perun looks a bit miffed by the heat after its frill is caught in the intense wave.
You look around. If you can't ground that monster, there's no way you'll win this. Retreating could work, but that'll just set you back further. You're not one to run from your troubles, not if the only way forward is through that damn gate.
"Catch me when I fall," Ray says. You blink, opening your mouth to ask her what the hell she's talking about.
You don't get the chance.
Ray grabs something from the back of her robes, where you can see a large pocket she must hide some of the things she needs for her sleight of hand tricks. It's another stone, though this one does not look like quartz. Even in the distance, it feels cold and airy, like a deep breath in the woods of Gildera.
She slams the stone down, and a gust of wind sends her up into the air. Charizard… looks just as stunned as you are. Ray ends up shooting toward it like an arrow, barely missing it before slowing down towards the ceiling. Charizard, having dodged, moves to attack you again.
Ray comes down holding a lightning stone in her hand and pushes it into the Charizard's wings.
A loud bang, and Charizard begins to tumble down. Ray falls as well, and just like she had requested, you catch her, bending down slightly to cushion her. Charizard is clearly irritated at the attack, but cannot fly up again, one of its wings clearly injured by the very effective priestess.
"Up top!" Sophia shouts. You see her and Cubone working together, coming down on Charizard with their weapons. The wings come together to form a shield around it, and though the sword is sharp and strong, the scales on this ancient guardian do not give in to human weapons or tiny Pokemon attacks.
The wings unfurl, sending another gust of wind out. Sophia and Cubone fly backwards, to your left and right as you let Ray down. You move your hand behind your back, grabbing your shield.
You see glint in its eyes. Something primal, and dangerous. You see the bright idea forming, and you know there's no way you can dodge what comes next.
Which is unfortunate because you don't think you can block it either. Charizard opens its maw wide and you see something come out of it. Not fire, but something that makes the air all hazy. It raises its head up, its tail coming all the way up to meet it.
Its mouth ignites into blue flames.
Cubone stands in front of you, quickly slamming its club into the ground. A wall of dirt shoots up, hardening along the edges. Sophia and Ray push up next to you, and you can see Charizard blow its flames onto the ground, creating a ring around it that expands outward until it hits the wall of dirt.
You push your shield against it, holding on as Cubone looks worried its wall will not hold. Sophia and Ray help you as the heat crawls around you, their hands on your back, giving you support even as everything in front of you threatens to crumble.
"It's like a tug of war," you hear the echoes of your earlier conversation. Fear grips your heart. You cannot let it end here, you cannot lose to something like this.
You cannot lose to someone like Wilhelm.
So you let go of your sword and put your hand around your shield arm, pushing with your entire body against the overwhelming pressure.
"Hey, Drake?"
"Yes, child?"
"How did you get so strong?"
You roar with energy you don't have, a powerful feeling welling up in your chest as the world around you descends into a haze. The edges of your vision turn black, you can feel bits of your clothes singed even as Ray scrambles to use water stones to dampen your environment.
"You might not like the answer."
Your voice becomes louder than the flames. Though all the strength in your body is not enough, you cannot accept giving up. If that light in you is not burning bright enough, you have to make it radiant. You cannot let this be the end. You cannot let this be the end.
You cannot let this be the end.
"The right motivation makes us surpass our limits, Aria. I cannot say what works for me will work for you."
You let go of your arm, crossing your arms behind the shield instead. The world around you becomes fire, and in that crucible you have to become someone Drake would be proud of. Someone your grandmother would love to meet again in the Elysian fields. Someone who always holds her head high.
"I will always be proud of you, Aria." - "You're a good child, Aria." - "Courage. Wisdom. Power. Hope. Faith. Love."
Silence.
Your mouth is still wide open, and you scream at the top of your lungs, but you cannot hear anything. You stand in the shadows as the sun rises in front of you. But it's not the shade you should be cast in.
The wall of dirt explodes, unable to withstand the heat any longer. The pressure, however, is gone. You see the path ahead, the light and the obstacle that casts it. The water stone explodes at the same time, creating just enough water to stop the heat for a single second.
You throw your shield, hitting Charizard's snout with a force that snaps its mouth shut. The heat cuts off immediately, and though some of it still hits your group it does not burn you to cinders, leaving burns that you can treat afterwards.
The sound returns, and your feet do not stop. You hit the ground running, catching the shield with both hands as it comes down and slamming it on the Charizard's head as it still reels from the sudden interruption. You do it again, and again, and again. Though what is now victim of your violence is a powerful and large Pokemon, which seems mostly annoyed rather than genuinely injured, you are reminded of that asshole in the woods.
Only it's not a Tediursa on the line this time, it's your friends, your partners, and your own life.
Charizard recovers and knocks you back with a swipe of its claws, cutting the surface of your belly as you try to get out of the way.
Sophia swoops in, using her own blade to stop the followup attack and getting knocked down right next to you. It roars at you. You roar back, unable to find a human way to express yourself as your tongue lies heavy in your mouth.
Ray throws another one of those flying stones, this time between you and the Charizard. The strong wind drags you away from your opponent. You scramble for your sword, still hot to the touch, and point it at Charizard. Perun barks up at you, and you give him a nod.
But then—
A loud slam. Dust and dirt knocked from the door. Charizard… stops. It turns around, looking at the door in clear confusion. After a moment of silence, another loud bang. Something behind it slams against it with an absurd force.
You'd have taken the time to take a cheap shot at it, but the next slam makes it panic. It flies at the door, trying to hold it shut. Though menacing and powerful, it looks genuinely lost as the door is slowly being pried open.
Another slam causes the… hinges? To fail. You're not sure if it has hinges, probably some sort of locking mechanism using stones and gears from the inside. The door slams open with a force that knocks Charizard back. It opens to reveal the heroes of the hour.
Spring is on top of Tauros' back, using his vines to hold tight onto its horns. Inana is right in front of him, holding onto the vines and pulling on them, steering the rather dangerous bull.
Gumi is there, too, cheering from behind. Tauros… looks absolutely exhausted. It is injured, from the fight against the three no doubt, and now the slamming against the door with all its might even broke off part of its right horn. It falls down, unable to stay conscious.
Charizard looks lost, and you can't help but laugh in joy as Inana meets your gaze.
"Inana!" you shout, smiling. "Perun!"
They react without any more words. Inana joins the fight with a powerful kick on Charizard's shoulder, where the wing meets its back, and Perun shoots forward a charged beam of lightning as that one moment of inattention gives you the upper hand.
Charizard roars in pain, and gets ready to retaliate.
Which is why the rest of the gang joins in. You can see Ray throwing Gumi one of the quartzes, and Gumi bites down on it, supercharged with so much electricity it begins to glow blue.
"Spring!" Sophia shots. "Hold it down!"
Before Charizard can recover, Spring's vines wrap around it. Gumi begins to run around the room, taking time to build momentum before slamming into Charizard with a force that knocks the poor wanna-be-dragon into a wall, all that electricity paralyzing it.
The final blow comes from Cubone, who looks towards Sophia first for approval. She smiles, pointing at the still twitching Charizard with her sword.
"Winter," she names the little guide. "Get even."
Winter the Cubone stabs her club into the ground and pulls it out like a sword, rocks stuck to it to make a rather interesting mace. She slams the mace on Charizard's head, knocking it out. The fight is over, and you breathe a sigh of relief.
Ray falls to her knees. You'd do the same, but Inana decides to jump at you with a force that knocks you onto your back instead. You wince, too happy to be bothered by the pain.
"Did you miss me?" you ask. Inana seems to notice what she's doing, jumping off you and crossing her arms, clicking her tongue. Perun stands next to her, imitating the pose and clicking his tongue as well, clearly mocking his senior. Inana swipes at him, and Perun dodges, laughing loudly at the now upset mustelid.
The relief is short-lived as something moves in the corner of your vision. Charizard stands up again, but this time, all the energy leaves you. You can no longer stand up, your hand will not be able to hold that shield again.
Winter says something to the guardian again, and your vision starts to darken.
###
Drake stands tall, as he always does. His vigil never ends, and though he always looks like the weight of the world is on his shoulders, and his eyes grow ever distant, you wish to share his burdens.
Capella is currently being punished, leaving you two alone just weeks after you entered the Caer to become aspirants. The way she spoke to your teacher means a good week of cleaning duties, which have to be fulfilled after everyone is already turning in for the night.
There were strong words about that too, which just means that the punishment was extended by another week.
Drake simply laughed when he heard, softly like he always does, not loud or boasting. Not like other knights. He never was like anyone you've ever met before.
"You look like you want to ask me something," he says. One of his hands holds some hard wood, the other a dull knife. Though the blade is gone and attempts to sharpen it have failed, it still remains the thing that he uses to carve things. It's one of his important heirlooms, he once said. All the things that the princess of Gildera gave him while he served her dutifully were precious to him.
"You are strong," you say, and his hand stills. "You are stronger than anyone, aren't you?"
"I don't know if that's true," he says, his voice low and full of something you have never felt before. Something that he always feels when his eyes grow distant. Something you know one day will be longing, as Capella described it. "I am strong, child. Stronger than many, but even I have things I cannot do."
"You can't carve the mountains between borders," you say, nodding. He smiles at you. "And you can't really cook either."
"Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses," he says. "But there are three things a knight needs to be a knight, in abundance."
"Courage. Wisdom. Power."
He nods. "They're the pillars of chivalry, a union of all that makes me whole. But they're not all that makes a person, because we are more than just knights."
"Hope. Faith. Love."
He nods again. "All desires are linked to these. Some yearn for them, some yearn for too much, some yearn for so little they become shells of themselves."
You try to understand, and though you know this kind of conversation would be harder if you had not grown up with the likes of the Flambergs, it is still not something you can grasp with the experiences you have now.
"How did you get this strong?"
It's a question you've asked before, when you saw him swing his sword once to defeat a dozen bandits. He did not answer then.
"You might not like the answer," he says, and you pout, unwilling to let his habit of cryptic reasoning be the end of this conversation. His hands begin moving again, carving into the wood and slowly revealing the form of a Psyduck. "The truth is, I can't tell you for sure. The right motivation makes us surpass our limits, Aria. I cannot say what works for me will work for you."
"What did work for you then?" You move up to him, your hand coming up to the carving, your fingers holding the dull knife until he finally looks at you properly. "What do I need to do to become someone you can be proud of?"
"I will always be proud of you, Aria," he says, putting his tools on the table. He takes your hands into his, so big that a single one could wrap around both of yours. "What's important isn't how other people feel about you, but how you feel about yourself. Become someone you can be proud of, and I will forever be happy that we have met."
This is Drake. He is tall, and imposing, and his scars look scary.
But the biggest part of him is his heart. With a love so great that it would shame even Aphrodite, who inside of her could only hold the affection for a single world.
"One day you'll realize that I am not such a great man," he says, as if reading your mind. You blush, your thoughts ever obvious on your face. "If you find you can forgive me for not living up to your expectations, I believe it'd be my turn to turn red."
You laugh, ignoring the stinging in your eyes.
###
You have surpassed the Guardian of the Tomb. While your deeds will not reach the ears of the people, the world knows of your strength. To surpass impossible odds requires impossible ambitions. Drake's strength was born from his desire to keep the princess safe, and though you know he would have never admitted it, it was out of love.
As Drake once said, all three things are necessary. You are not really just a knight anymore, you don't only deal in chivalry, because chivalry is just too small for what lies ahead. You are Aria—
[ ] ...the Hopeful.
Not for the future, but for here and now. Not the knowledge but the instinct that everything will be alright as long as you keep your head up and face the world.
[ ] ...the Faithful.
No, not the faith in gods. The faith in people, in yourself. In your deeds, in your kindness that nobody can see, and the kindness in others that you wish to reveal.
[ ] ...the Loving.
Not for a person, but for the world around you. Drake loved a single woman so much that nothing in the world could stop him. Have you ever loved so much it hurts?
Inana and Spring vs. Tauros
Vote closed
Update 17: Lizard-Superlative
Elpis
Ostensibly Hope
- Location
- Berlin
[X] The Dark King, whose name will forever be synonymous with the desecration of bonds.
[X] ...the Loving.
###
You open your eyes to a world full of softness. Though you expect pain, your body feels light. Even the burns on your hands have stopped throbbing. Your head is lying on something soft and comfortable, which makes the whole cave experience somewhat tolerable.
You're not sure if you prefer this to pain, though. Pain is how you know you're alive. Yet as your eyes get used to the darkness, you find yourself staring up not at the Elysian fields or your grandmother, but Sophia, who is stroking your hair as she hums. She must've waited for you to wake up, rings under her eyes telling of her tiredness.
"You—" you begin, but your throat protests. It's sore, more so than the rest of your body, and for the first time in a while you find yourself speechless as Sophia looks down at you, her eyes lightning up like stars.
"You're awake," she says, in such heavy relief that the words take all the tension from her body. She slumps forward, pressing you down harder onto her thighs. "I'm so glad, you weren't breathing, your heart slowed down so much…"
There are no fungi here, but there's light. You try to look around, but with Sophia's iron grip on your head, you can't turn. You feel something hit your cheek, hot and damp, like harsh summer rain.
"We almost died," she says. Again is left unspoken. Once again, Wilhelm's actions have led you into a situation where death was around every corner. Once again, you fight against a foe that was out to kill you. Once again—No.
"This time nobody got hurt," you say, reaching out to cup her cheek. Maybe if you can calm her down you can free your head from her grip. "I'd see that as a win, right?"
"You got hurt," she says. You blink. You don't really feel hurt at all, if anything you feel like you could take on anything right now. Whatever possessed you at that moment left no marks and no wounds.
Only slight aches, something behind your eyes hurts slightly, but you can't quite call it 'pain'.
"Sophia," you say, your voice warm. "I'm okay, I promise."
Her face turns red from all the crying, but she obliges you nevertheless, letting go of your head and allowing you to sit up properly. You find yourself staring at… a burning tail. The Guardian sits there, its flame warming you and the others.
You reach over for your sword, but find it's not wrapped at your hip anymore. The Guardian growls at you, and your glare makes it… cower?
"It's not gonna fight us," Ray says. You glance over to the side where Ray is leaning against the battered Tauros. There's some bandages around it now, though it's still unconscious from the beating it must have received. "It lost, so now it won't fight us."
"Sure," you say, doubt marring your voice. "It just tried turning us to ash so forgive me if I have my doubts."
The Guardian opens its maw and says something. It's… not something you understand, but somehow its feelings come through.
"You, err," Ray says, helpfully. "Sorry, that word's hard. The first syllable is ancient Elysian and means Lizard, but… superlative? What kind of language superlatives nouns?"
The Guardian turns to her and says something again, moving its hands as if that helps with the translation. Ray frowns, then nods, then frowns again, then looks like she swallowed something sour.
"Okay, lets just move on, Superlative Lizard, second syllable is… liquid? Sap?" she asks. Charizard roars loudly. "Fuck off, I didn't skip any classes your accent's just shit!"
"Ladies," you say, shaking your head. You feel a bit off, but Sophia's hand on your shoulder makes it easy to keep focus. "You're both pretty, please, just translate the gist of it, I don't need a literal translation."
Charizard grunts, then repeats its earlier sentence.
"You, Lizard-superlative Liquid-or-Sap," Ray says. "Ancient Pact, something something, an apology for thinking we were grave robbers. It says you bested it in combat, so now it'll listen to you until your pilgrimage ends."
"Pilgrimage?" you ask, frowning. "I suppose that's what people would do when they come down here, but… I don't think I've got a Pokeball for you ready."
"No Pokeball," Ray says. Charizard nods. "Its life is bound to the Tomb. It'll die when it leaves, so think of it as a guest."
"A guest," you say, your voice dry. Of course, a guest, about 12 feet tall and very much the reason for Sophia's emotional state. You shake your head. "Fine then, we need all hands on deck when we go after Wilhelm."
You stand up, dusting yourself off before turning around and giving Sophia a hand. She takes it, standing up next to you, still somewhat shaken but nonetheless ready to carry on.
Inana and Perun are with Spring and Winter, holding something of a conversation while Gumi sits with Ray, yawning widely in boredom. You sigh, trying to come up with a plan isn't working out. Your brain is too jumbled.
Charizard makes another attempt to speak, and Ray rolls her eyes. "There's no way I'm translating that."
Okay, enough. You clap your hands together. "I can't think, it's too loud. So everyone just, be quiet, please."
You take a deep breath. The path forward is open, you have a powerful ally at your side. But something about the situation still stinks, there's no way Wilhelm sent you down here without some purpose. With the power of that staff, he likely could have killed you considering Ray's story.
While your body is fine, your brain is fried. Physical exhaustion would be preferable to the fog in front of your eyes that seems to form whenever you try to have a coherent thought. Something pokes you in the side, and you frown. "Not now, Skiddle—"
You blink the fog away. The darkness around you grows cold and distant, and you find your hand pushing Inana away before you pull it back so fast, your head starts spinning. Inana looks at you confused, then shrugs before pointing down towards the door that they had blasted open earlier.
"Sorry, yes," you say. Sophia gives you a look you can't place. Even Ray seems tense, as if those few seconds of silence had revealed something more. "Winter over there has been leading us up to go kick Wilhelm's ass."
Inana says something while raising her arms wide. The Guardian stirs at her words, looking irritated. You can't quite make out what she's trying to tell you, pain behind your eyes flaring up as you give it a try.
"Okay, at this point I'm done with the cave diving," you say, rubbing the bridge of your nose. "Everyone, we're getting out of here. Winter, good job so far."
Winter smiles up at you, her tail wagging back and forth as she walks up to Sophia and holds her club up.
"We'll let the Guardian lead us the rest of the way," you say. Charizard gives a slow nod, still looking somewhat miffed at its door being destroyed. Nevertheless, it did not actually say anything more when the smaller Pokemon decided to jump on its back and let it carry them. Inana and Perun look at you to join them, but you shake your head, it does not look like a comfortable ride at all.
Spring, who seems still a bit wary of Winter, decides to stay with Sophia, who has calmed down somewhat.
"There's a good chance we'll have to fight that man again," Sophia says, frowning. "If he hasn't already succeeded at what he wants to do, how are we going to make sure we can win this time?"
"I feel it in my bones," you say. It sounds like a joke, but you are not lying. Headaches aside, right now you feel like you can take on any foe, so why should Wilhelm be any different? "And because I think he needs us alive for something, which is why he hasn't killed us when he had the chance."
"Not that it matters," Ray says, her jaw tense as she bites down on her cheek. "We're getting that staff back."
The group moves on.
###
The path is boring once more, and so you find yourself trying to hold a conversation with Ray while Winter is distracting Sophia, who is still very uncomfortable with Charizard walking in front of you all.
"Ray," you say. She looks up at you, matching the speed of your steps to keep up with you. "How much do you know about history?"
"Depends on what history, what period, what geography," Ray says. "I've spent most of my childhood in the priest's library, so I know quite a few things about history related to the gods."
"All of them?"
"Most of them." She nods. "Maybe not that much about the ones far in the east on different continents, there's one story I know about four beasts of ruin. It's related to the birthplace of the three beasts worshipped in Sol—"
"I'd love to hear about that one day," you say, nodding. "But I wanted to be a bit more specific."
She smiles softly, and gives you a nod to continue.
"There's some stories I've never learned more about," you say. Your grandmother told many, yet time with her was so finite. Even if you asked a billion questions, she tried to answer them all, and yet— "Ray, what can you tell me of the Dark King?"
"Mythologically speaking, he's the counterpart to the first king of Sol," Ray says, sounding like a textbook. "Historically speaking, he's a warlord who held the attention of a powerful deity and challenged the status quo of the continent until the establishment of the four kingdoms."
"I know that much," you say. Sophia nods, no doubt also educated in the history of Gildera and Sol as any good knight should be. "I meant more information that's not filtered by years of historical retellings."
"That's more complicated," she says. "It's hard to explain short, too. The truth is that information about that time is very sparse because people tried very hard to erase that man's name, and worse, they succeeded."
You can't imagine a worse fate, to be forgotten so deliberately that nobody knows your name anymore. Though his actions, from the perspective of those who live a thousand years after his deeds, are reprehensible, you cannot truly see a difference between him and the invasions of Sol into Gildera in an attempt to take the rest of the continent for itself.
"If you ask anyone for a name other than 'Dark King', they'll call him 'Betrayer'. We do not know who or what he betrayed, some say he betrayed mankind, some say he betrayed a God. Whatever the case, his name will forever be synonymous with the desecration of bonds. There is a claim that the Royal Family of Gildera descended from him, though that's long disputed."
You imagine so, even if it were true they'd not admit it freely.
"Gildera suffers his punishment all the same," you say. The people live free, yet their world is limited by mountains and their vision is hindered by trees and clouds. "A sin so heavy that a thousand years of exile could not repay it."
"That's one of those things that you'd need more education on," Ray says. You raise an eyebrow. "I don't mean to say you're stupid, I'm saying that's a thing people are still arguing about to this day. Did Kael draw the mountains up to trap the Union and their descendants, or did he draw a line in the sand to protect the very same from the wrath of the continent they nearly burned down?"
Your feet stop as you ponder the question. A perspective you've never considered before, yet something that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. With the power of the Sun, Kael could have carved more than mountains into the earth.
"I do believe in sin," Ray says. "I believe in the world beyond."
She draws light into the air with her fingers, electricity dancing like fairies across the cave.
"And I still believe in magic, and as a person who everyone admires, whose name is synonymous with the belief of a better world, I do not believe Kael's intention was to punish the Union, or the Kingdoms that sprang from it. I believe he wanted an end to suffering, and pain, and bloodshed."
"I'm sorry," you say, blinking away a vision of a world far in the past. It's her turn to stop and raise an eyebrow, so you must answer: "I'm sorry for my words when we first met. I should not have cast doubt on your faith, Ray."
She snorts. "That's ages ago, and there's nothing to be sorry about."
"No, there is," you say, shaking your head. "I'm impulsive and judgmental, even when I know that people's motivations run much deeper than what I can see. You believe in something greater than you, and judging you for how you live it is shameful."
She does not respond, instead looking away from you. You think you made her angry, the tips of her ears lightning up in furious red.
"It's fine," she mumbles, and with the knowledge that she's not angry at you, you smile, continuing forward and further up into the tomb.
"I've got my own questions," Sophia says, coming between you and Ray with a heavy step, pushing both of you apart. Ray rolls her eyes, and you change the speed of your walk slightly to give them both more space. "You said the Guardian has a name for Aria, right?"
"Yeah, though I really can't place the word. I was okay at languages, not great." Ray raises both her arms and swings them back and forth. "It's like— chrysalis. If it said caterpillar-superlative it'd translate to butterfly."
"So what'd be the superlative of lizard?" Sophia asks. Ray shrugs.
"I don't know," she says. "A lizard doesn't become anything, really. It might be a reference to a lizard-like Pokemon that we don't know, which evolved into something else."
Charizard says something.
Ray blinks. "Okay, good guess then. Something that was normal, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Considering it's an overgrown fire lizard, maybe that's what he's saying to you."
"Liquid or sap," you say, frowning. "Maybe it means blood? Kin?"
Charizard nods. The sentence it said becomes slightly more coherent.
"Well, whatever energy came from you when you were kicking its ass, it definitely left an impression," Ray says. She gives you a smirk. "Maybe it thinks you're its mommy."
"Your sense of humor needs work," you say, your voice dry. "Nevertheless, I don't know what I did. I just got too angry, and too scared, and too annoyed to do nothing."
"That makes a lot of sense," Sophia says. You turn your head to her. "If you don't know what kind of energy runs through you, you can't use it. So it must've been a reflex, right? Involuntary, something that just comes natural to you when you're in a stressful situation."
"Adrenaline is good at that." Ray snaps her fingers. "If it comes out when you're fighting, that can help narrow it down, though we're not really in a position to experiment."
You hold your hand up, glaring at your palm. No fire, no electricity. Nothing that can be drawn from the air or come from the ground. Whatever lies inside, whatever your calling is, it's all you.
It's always been you.
So you clench a fist and carry on. "We'll figure it out when I kick that bastard's ass again."
"Yes," Sophia says, her own hands clenched in front of her chest.
"Hear, hear," Ray says, putting her hands behind her head and continuing forward. "I'm getting hungry, though."
So are you.
###
The tomb changes once again.
Your hand traces the murals, the fungal growth thins out more and more. Your vision gets used to the darker surroundings fast, and what you can't make out, the Guardian lights up without you saying a word.
It's after a walk held in silence that you can feel something strange. Air, a soft breeze that makes all hair on the back of your neck stand straight. A smell that you've had to smell before when you were in that brothel—
It comes from a wall. No, from between it, you see a small cut across one of the murals, raising your hand to stop the group. You look up at Charizard. "Open this."
The Guardian does not seem very happy, but obliged your demand anyway. Its claws dig into the secret doorway, knocking debris and dust off the wall. The door starts moving, opening wide enough for the smell to increase. Even Sophia and Ray begin holding their nose. It's not just the smell of the brothel, but also of rot, and vermin, and all the things that make your stomach churn.
You must press on, so you do. Charizard follows you, its tail swinging around to touch candles that are near the walls. The room gets brighter and brighter.
"A dungeon?" you ask, frowning. Metal bars, cages in various sizes, a door which must be the normal way inside. It looks worn down and abandoned, like most of the tomb, but the smell tells you something else.
"Here," Sophia calls out. You turn your head and find her at the far wall, next to a well-preserved corpse. "She's alive."
You rush forward, your knees scraping against the ground as you take hold of the woman chained to the wall. You've seen her before, and even if you haven't, the smell alone would've told you who she was.
Debora looks awful. Sunken eyes and cheeks, bruises all over her arms and legs. She has been held here for a while, and though she has been kept alive, her comfort was far from the minds of whoever put her here. If you had to guess, it was Wilhelm, though from what you've learned about Olympia, it's not guaranteed.
You take one of the potions. She's not badly injured, but what's wrong with her won't be done with some miracle cure out of a bottle. You have to get her up to Justus as fast as possible.
The potion does its work. Her complexion improves slightly, though none of the bruises show any sign of improvement.
"Debora," you call out her name, but she does not stir. "Debora, we're here to help."
"No need to bother," Ray says. She sniffs the air, the pungent smell making her turn slightly green. "This is some sedative at work, the air smells of it. She won't wake up unless you stimulate it out of her."
"And how'd we do that?" Sophia asks, clearly unhappy with Ray's dismissive tone.
Ray smiles, clapping her hands together. Electricity gathers at her fingertips. "All you had to do was ask."
"Ray," you say, your voice even. "We're not turning her in for the bounty."
"I never said I was gonna," Ray says, shrugging. "And with everything going on above us, I feel like some gold isn't my main concern. I can help, so let me help."
You nod, standing up and taking a few steps backwards. Sophia joins you, watching as Ray approaches Debora. You hold your hand up quickly.
"Wait," you say, looking at Charizard. "Break the chains, first."
Charizard does, cheered on by Inana. Perun's eyes are fixed on Ray's hands, his frills clapping together above him as electricity jumps between them. Is it trying to copy her? It'd be a cute sight if you weren't so tense right now. The chains shatter at the weakest link, and Debora's arms slump down to the ground.
Ray continues her work. She puts one hand on Debora's chest, and another on the woman's forehead. The glow of the electricity is not very intense, though you imagine it'll be painful either way.
"Wake up, Debbie," Ray says, her voice low. You don't think anyone but you heard her. "Come on."
The lightning flashes for a moment, and Debora jerks upwards, bashing her back against the wall as she tries to get away from Ray. Her eyes are wide and panicked, growing even more frantic as she catches sight of Charizard's angry mug.
"Welcome back," Ray says. Debora's panic slowly washes away, exhaustion taking over, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused. Ray slaps her cheeks softly. "Come on, no time for another nap, or I'll leave you here."
"You've always had terrible bedside manners, Ray," Debora says. Her voice is distant and weak. "I imagine a prince would get me, but I guess you'll have to do."
Ray smiles softly, nodding at you. You join, grabbing the woman under her knees and shoulders to lift her up and bring her over to one of the half-broken chairs strewn across the room.
"Now that's more like it," Debora says. "Well, looks wise, but you're a bit soft down there—"
You nearly drop her when Sophia slams the chair she pulled from the floor so hard that it shatters. You blink, and Sophia looks somewhat embarrassed by the move before picking up another chair.
"Not that one," Sophia says, trying to laugh it off. You nod, slowly setting Debora on the chair and holding onto it to stop it from wobbling.
"Thank you," Debora says, ignoring the last few seconds. "If you could tell me what's going on, that'd be nice."
You need to learn that from her. The way panic and fear is cut away until you can stay calm even in a situation like this, it'd be invaluable—
"Of course," you say. You try to keep it short, but the story does take longer than you want. The last few days since her disappearance had been busy, after all, but now that she has been found there should be a way to pay off the guards. Even if they deserve not a single coin. "We've found the secret entrance and got knocked down a few floors by Wilhelm."
She does react at the name. Her hand moves to her head, fury in her eyes.
"I guess I can repay the favor," Debora says, her broken fingernails drawing a white line over her cheek as she lowers her hand. "That man was in and out of the high priest's office in the last few weeks. I heard them speak whenever I was in the bedroom."
"You can spare us from that part," Ray says. Sophia nods, crossing her arms. Debora gives them both a wide smile.
"Talking about what?" you ask. You have a feeling that trying to keep the conversation on topic will be a difficult task.
"Promises of power," Debora says. "Wilhelm told Agamemnon that he could become a God."
"Blasphemy, great," Ray says, rolling her eyes. "I imagine he was very interested—"
"He wasn't," Debora says. Ray looks annoyed, but says nothing, letting the woman continue. "Though that man's faults were many, he was not that mad. So when Wilhelm realized sweet words won't get him anywhere, he killed him, then took me down here."
That's a slight escalation from his earlier behavior, then again, though they share name and face, and even that Tauros, it's still hard to believe that this is the same Wilhelm as the one you've met and fought in Wallburg.
"Why did he take you?" you ask. For a moment you can see that fear in her eyes again. That moment of realization of a fate that would have befallen her if you had not come down here and found her. "Debora?"
"Sacrifice," she says, swallowing a lump in her throat. "He's trying to summon something big, something dangerous. My time in the priest's school was brief so I couldn't make out most of it, but before he put me here I saw writings about how the demon was sealed. It took seven souls, seven lives, seven priests of Raikou."
"You went to the priest's school?" Sophia asks. You give her a look and she raises her hands, taking a step back. "Sorry, okay, seven sacrifices to seal a demon— wait, seal?"
"Seal, not kill?" Ray asks, just as confused. "The demi-god is still alive? It's not dead at all?"
The panic in her voice makes the alarm bells in your own head ring louder. The idea of bringing a dead demi-god back to life is ridiculous, even if you thought that might be a possibility he was pursuing.
But breaking a seal on something using a legendary artifact sounds a lot more reasonable.
"That's why he kept us alive," you say, frowning. "That's… four here, he'd need three more."
"He has them," Debora says, pointing at the dark cell. You strain your eyes, looking inside. You can make out two men chained to the wall, one of them wearing a rather fancy guard's uniform. "Them plus us is six, then he is the seventh."
"You think he'd sacrifice himself?" you ask.
"Yes," Ray says, her teeth clenched. "Zealots are worse than blasphemers, you can convince them to do anything for a spark of divinity."
"I think he's willing to do anything, including murdering a high priest and kidnapping the Centurion in one of the holiest cities in Sol," Debora says, nodding at Ray. "And if it unleashes whatever Raikou sealed here, all of Olympia will be leveled."
You feel that chill again. Your dislike for Wilhelm grows stronger, but that's so minor in the face of such an adversity.
Charizard roars. The sound makes the bones inside of your rattle, and you glare up at it, growling back. "What is wrong with you?"
"It's angry," Ray says, her own emotions bleeding into her voice. "The Guardians are probably meant to prevent something like this. The path would be blocked by them without the staff, which he has in his possession."
"Okay," you say, crossing your arms. "To be perfectly honest with you, this goes over my head for the most part. I don't think it changes our plan at all, we're out to kick his ass, take the staff back, and get Debora to her people."
"That's… true," Sophia says. She does not look happy with the prospect of being a human sacrifice. Spring is patting her on the back with its vines, while Winter looks a bit confused at what's going on. Inana grunts, confident she can take whatever comes your way.
You clench your fist over your chest.
The truth is often simple. A mad man follows a mad plan.
The world above is in danger and the only thing that can stop a devastation that will drag tens of thousands people into their death is you. And you will never ask why it is you, you will never care that it is your lot in life.
Maybe your path is so difficult because your calling is higher.
You are Aria, Revolutionary. Aria, Wise. Aria, Hero-in-Training.
You love this world, and the path ahead of you, the magic of life.
So you will believe in magic, just like Ray does.
The situation up top is going to become troublesome very fast and you have to focus on how to approach the fight. Whoever is not fighting with you will aid Sophia and Ray.
[ ] Press forward with Inana.
[ ] Press forward with Perun.
###
AN: No drawing this time, sorry.
[X] ...the Loving.
###
You open your eyes to a world full of softness. Though you expect pain, your body feels light. Even the burns on your hands have stopped throbbing. Your head is lying on something soft and comfortable, which makes the whole cave experience somewhat tolerable.
You're not sure if you prefer this to pain, though. Pain is how you know you're alive. Yet as your eyes get used to the darkness, you find yourself staring up not at the Elysian fields or your grandmother, but Sophia, who is stroking your hair as she hums. She must've waited for you to wake up, rings under her eyes telling of her tiredness.
"You—" you begin, but your throat protests. It's sore, more so than the rest of your body, and for the first time in a while you find yourself speechless as Sophia looks down at you, her eyes lightning up like stars.
"You're awake," she says, in such heavy relief that the words take all the tension from her body. She slumps forward, pressing you down harder onto her thighs. "I'm so glad, you weren't breathing, your heart slowed down so much…"
There are no fungi here, but there's light. You try to look around, but with Sophia's iron grip on your head, you can't turn. You feel something hit your cheek, hot and damp, like harsh summer rain.
"We almost died," she says. Again is left unspoken. Once again, Wilhelm's actions have led you into a situation where death was around every corner. Once again, you fight against a foe that was out to kill you. Once again—No.
"This time nobody got hurt," you say, reaching out to cup her cheek. Maybe if you can calm her down you can free your head from her grip. "I'd see that as a win, right?"
"You got hurt," she says. You blink. You don't really feel hurt at all, if anything you feel like you could take on anything right now. Whatever possessed you at that moment left no marks and no wounds.
Only slight aches, something behind your eyes hurts slightly, but you can't quite call it 'pain'.
"Sophia," you say, your voice warm. "I'm okay, I promise."
Her face turns red from all the crying, but she obliges you nevertheless, letting go of your head and allowing you to sit up properly. You find yourself staring at… a burning tail. The Guardian sits there, its flame warming you and the others.
You reach over for your sword, but find it's not wrapped at your hip anymore. The Guardian growls at you, and your glare makes it… cower?
"It's not gonna fight us," Ray says. You glance over to the side where Ray is leaning against the battered Tauros. There's some bandages around it now, though it's still unconscious from the beating it must have received. "It lost, so now it won't fight us."
"Sure," you say, doubt marring your voice. "It just tried turning us to ash so forgive me if I have my doubts."
The Guardian opens its maw and says something. It's… not something you understand, but somehow its feelings come through.
"You, err," Ray says, helpfully. "Sorry, that word's hard. The first syllable is ancient Elysian and means Lizard, but… superlative? What kind of language superlatives nouns?"
The Guardian turns to her and says something again, moving its hands as if that helps with the translation. Ray frowns, then nods, then frowns again, then looks like she swallowed something sour.
"Okay, lets just move on, Superlative Lizard, second syllable is… liquid? Sap?" she asks. Charizard roars loudly. "Fuck off, I didn't skip any classes your accent's just shit!"
"Ladies," you say, shaking your head. You feel a bit off, but Sophia's hand on your shoulder makes it easy to keep focus. "You're both pretty, please, just translate the gist of it, I don't need a literal translation."
Charizard grunts, then repeats its earlier sentence.
"You, Lizard-superlative Liquid-or-Sap," Ray says. "Ancient Pact, something something, an apology for thinking we were grave robbers. It says you bested it in combat, so now it'll listen to you until your pilgrimage ends."
"Pilgrimage?" you ask, frowning. "I suppose that's what people would do when they come down here, but… I don't think I've got a Pokeball for you ready."
"No Pokeball," Ray says. Charizard nods. "Its life is bound to the Tomb. It'll die when it leaves, so think of it as a guest."
"A guest," you say, your voice dry. Of course, a guest, about 12 feet tall and very much the reason for Sophia's emotional state. You shake your head. "Fine then, we need all hands on deck when we go after Wilhelm."
You stand up, dusting yourself off before turning around and giving Sophia a hand. She takes it, standing up next to you, still somewhat shaken but nonetheless ready to carry on.
Inana and Perun are with Spring and Winter, holding something of a conversation while Gumi sits with Ray, yawning widely in boredom. You sigh, trying to come up with a plan isn't working out. Your brain is too jumbled.
Charizard makes another attempt to speak, and Ray rolls her eyes. "There's no way I'm translating that."
Okay, enough. You clap your hands together. "I can't think, it's too loud. So everyone just, be quiet, please."
You take a deep breath. The path forward is open, you have a powerful ally at your side. But something about the situation still stinks, there's no way Wilhelm sent you down here without some purpose. With the power of that staff, he likely could have killed you considering Ray's story.
While your body is fine, your brain is fried. Physical exhaustion would be preferable to the fog in front of your eyes that seems to form whenever you try to have a coherent thought. Something pokes you in the side, and you frown. "Not now, Skiddle—"
You blink the fog away. The darkness around you grows cold and distant, and you find your hand pushing Inana away before you pull it back so fast, your head starts spinning. Inana looks at you confused, then shrugs before pointing down towards the door that they had blasted open earlier.
"Sorry, yes," you say. Sophia gives you a look you can't place. Even Ray seems tense, as if those few seconds of silence had revealed something more. "Winter over there has been leading us up to go kick Wilhelm's ass."
Inana says something while raising her arms wide. The Guardian stirs at her words, looking irritated. You can't quite make out what she's trying to tell you, pain behind your eyes flaring up as you give it a try.
"Okay, at this point I'm done with the cave diving," you say, rubbing the bridge of your nose. "Everyone, we're getting out of here. Winter, good job so far."
Winter smiles up at you, her tail wagging back and forth as she walks up to Sophia and holds her club up.
"We'll let the Guardian lead us the rest of the way," you say. Charizard gives a slow nod, still looking somewhat miffed at its door being destroyed. Nevertheless, it did not actually say anything more when the smaller Pokemon decided to jump on its back and let it carry them. Inana and Perun look at you to join them, but you shake your head, it does not look like a comfortable ride at all.
Spring, who seems still a bit wary of Winter, decides to stay with Sophia, who has calmed down somewhat.
"There's a good chance we'll have to fight that man again," Sophia says, frowning. "If he hasn't already succeeded at what he wants to do, how are we going to make sure we can win this time?"
"I feel it in my bones," you say. It sounds like a joke, but you are not lying. Headaches aside, right now you feel like you can take on any foe, so why should Wilhelm be any different? "And because I think he needs us alive for something, which is why he hasn't killed us when he had the chance."
"Not that it matters," Ray says, her jaw tense as she bites down on her cheek. "We're getting that staff back."
The group moves on.
###
The path is boring once more, and so you find yourself trying to hold a conversation with Ray while Winter is distracting Sophia, who is still very uncomfortable with Charizard walking in front of you all.
"Ray," you say. She looks up at you, matching the speed of your steps to keep up with you. "How much do you know about history?"
"Depends on what history, what period, what geography," Ray says. "I've spent most of my childhood in the priest's library, so I know quite a few things about history related to the gods."
"All of them?"
"Most of them." She nods. "Maybe not that much about the ones far in the east on different continents, there's one story I know about four beasts of ruin. It's related to the birthplace of the three beasts worshipped in Sol—"
"I'd love to hear about that one day," you say, nodding. "But I wanted to be a bit more specific."
She smiles softly, and gives you a nod to continue.
"There's some stories I've never learned more about," you say. Your grandmother told many, yet time with her was so finite. Even if you asked a billion questions, she tried to answer them all, and yet— "Ray, what can you tell me of the Dark King?"
"Mythologically speaking, he's the counterpart to the first king of Sol," Ray says, sounding like a textbook. "Historically speaking, he's a warlord who held the attention of a powerful deity and challenged the status quo of the continent until the establishment of the four kingdoms."
"I know that much," you say. Sophia nods, no doubt also educated in the history of Gildera and Sol as any good knight should be. "I meant more information that's not filtered by years of historical retellings."
"That's more complicated," she says. "It's hard to explain short, too. The truth is that information about that time is very sparse because people tried very hard to erase that man's name, and worse, they succeeded."
You can't imagine a worse fate, to be forgotten so deliberately that nobody knows your name anymore. Though his actions, from the perspective of those who live a thousand years after his deeds, are reprehensible, you cannot truly see a difference between him and the invasions of Sol into Gildera in an attempt to take the rest of the continent for itself.
"If you ask anyone for a name other than 'Dark King', they'll call him 'Betrayer'. We do not know who or what he betrayed, some say he betrayed mankind, some say he betrayed a God. Whatever the case, his name will forever be synonymous with the desecration of bonds. There is a claim that the Royal Family of Gildera descended from him, though that's long disputed."
You imagine so, even if it were true they'd not admit it freely.
"Gildera suffers his punishment all the same," you say. The people live free, yet their world is limited by mountains and their vision is hindered by trees and clouds. "A sin so heavy that a thousand years of exile could not repay it."
"That's one of those things that you'd need more education on," Ray says. You raise an eyebrow. "I don't mean to say you're stupid, I'm saying that's a thing people are still arguing about to this day. Did Kael draw the mountains up to trap the Union and their descendants, or did he draw a line in the sand to protect the very same from the wrath of the continent they nearly burned down?"
Your feet stop as you ponder the question. A perspective you've never considered before, yet something that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. With the power of the Sun, Kael could have carved more than mountains into the earth.
"I do believe in sin," Ray says. "I believe in the world beyond."
She draws light into the air with her fingers, electricity dancing like fairies across the cave.
"And I still believe in magic, and as a person who everyone admires, whose name is synonymous with the belief of a better world, I do not believe Kael's intention was to punish the Union, or the Kingdoms that sprang from it. I believe he wanted an end to suffering, and pain, and bloodshed."
"I'm sorry," you say, blinking away a vision of a world far in the past. It's her turn to stop and raise an eyebrow, so you must answer: "I'm sorry for my words when we first met. I should not have cast doubt on your faith, Ray."
She snorts. "That's ages ago, and there's nothing to be sorry about."
"No, there is," you say, shaking your head. "I'm impulsive and judgmental, even when I know that people's motivations run much deeper than what I can see. You believe in something greater than you, and judging you for how you live it is shameful."
She does not respond, instead looking away from you. You think you made her angry, the tips of her ears lightning up in furious red.
"It's fine," she mumbles, and with the knowledge that she's not angry at you, you smile, continuing forward and further up into the tomb.
"I've got my own questions," Sophia says, coming between you and Ray with a heavy step, pushing both of you apart. Ray rolls her eyes, and you change the speed of your walk slightly to give them both more space. "You said the Guardian has a name for Aria, right?"
"Yeah, though I really can't place the word. I was okay at languages, not great." Ray raises both her arms and swings them back and forth. "It's like— chrysalis. If it said caterpillar-superlative it'd translate to butterfly."
"So what'd be the superlative of lizard?" Sophia asks. Ray shrugs.
"I don't know," she says. "A lizard doesn't become anything, really. It might be a reference to a lizard-like Pokemon that we don't know, which evolved into something else."
Charizard says something.
Ray blinks. "Okay, good guess then. Something that was normal, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Considering it's an overgrown fire lizard, maybe that's what he's saying to you."
"Liquid or sap," you say, frowning. "Maybe it means blood? Kin?"
Charizard nods. The sentence it said becomes slightly more coherent.
"Well, whatever energy came from you when you were kicking its ass, it definitely left an impression," Ray says. She gives you a smirk. "Maybe it thinks you're its mommy."
"Your sense of humor needs work," you say, your voice dry. "Nevertheless, I don't know what I did. I just got too angry, and too scared, and too annoyed to do nothing."
"That makes a lot of sense," Sophia says. You turn your head to her. "If you don't know what kind of energy runs through you, you can't use it. So it must've been a reflex, right? Involuntary, something that just comes natural to you when you're in a stressful situation."
"Adrenaline is good at that." Ray snaps her fingers. "If it comes out when you're fighting, that can help narrow it down, though we're not really in a position to experiment."
You hold your hand up, glaring at your palm. No fire, no electricity. Nothing that can be drawn from the air or come from the ground. Whatever lies inside, whatever your calling is, it's all you.
It's always been you.
So you clench a fist and carry on. "We'll figure it out when I kick that bastard's ass again."
"Yes," Sophia says, her own hands clenched in front of her chest.
"Hear, hear," Ray says, putting her hands behind her head and continuing forward. "I'm getting hungry, though."
So are you.
###
The tomb changes once again.
Your hand traces the murals, the fungal growth thins out more and more. Your vision gets used to the darker surroundings fast, and what you can't make out, the Guardian lights up without you saying a word.
It's after a walk held in silence that you can feel something strange. Air, a soft breeze that makes all hair on the back of your neck stand straight. A smell that you've had to smell before when you were in that brothel—
It comes from a wall. No, from between it, you see a small cut across one of the murals, raising your hand to stop the group. You look up at Charizard. "Open this."
The Guardian does not seem very happy, but obliged your demand anyway. Its claws dig into the secret doorway, knocking debris and dust off the wall. The door starts moving, opening wide enough for the smell to increase. Even Sophia and Ray begin holding their nose. It's not just the smell of the brothel, but also of rot, and vermin, and all the things that make your stomach churn.
You must press on, so you do. Charizard follows you, its tail swinging around to touch candles that are near the walls. The room gets brighter and brighter.
"A dungeon?" you ask, frowning. Metal bars, cages in various sizes, a door which must be the normal way inside. It looks worn down and abandoned, like most of the tomb, but the smell tells you something else.
"Here," Sophia calls out. You turn your head and find her at the far wall, next to a well-preserved corpse. "She's alive."
You rush forward, your knees scraping against the ground as you take hold of the woman chained to the wall. You've seen her before, and even if you haven't, the smell alone would've told you who she was.
Debora looks awful. Sunken eyes and cheeks, bruises all over her arms and legs. She has been held here for a while, and though she has been kept alive, her comfort was far from the minds of whoever put her here. If you had to guess, it was Wilhelm, though from what you've learned about Olympia, it's not guaranteed.
You take one of the potions. She's not badly injured, but what's wrong with her won't be done with some miracle cure out of a bottle. You have to get her up to Justus as fast as possible.
The potion does its work. Her complexion improves slightly, though none of the bruises show any sign of improvement.
"Debora," you call out her name, but she does not stir. "Debora, we're here to help."
"No need to bother," Ray says. She sniffs the air, the pungent smell making her turn slightly green. "This is some sedative at work, the air smells of it. She won't wake up unless you stimulate it out of her."
"And how'd we do that?" Sophia asks, clearly unhappy with Ray's dismissive tone.
Ray smiles, clapping her hands together. Electricity gathers at her fingertips. "All you had to do was ask."
"Ray," you say, your voice even. "We're not turning her in for the bounty."
"I never said I was gonna," Ray says, shrugging. "And with everything going on above us, I feel like some gold isn't my main concern. I can help, so let me help."
You nod, standing up and taking a few steps backwards. Sophia joins you, watching as Ray approaches Debora. You hold your hand up quickly.
"Wait," you say, looking at Charizard. "Break the chains, first."
Charizard does, cheered on by Inana. Perun's eyes are fixed on Ray's hands, his frills clapping together above him as electricity jumps between them. Is it trying to copy her? It'd be a cute sight if you weren't so tense right now. The chains shatter at the weakest link, and Debora's arms slump down to the ground.
Ray continues her work. She puts one hand on Debora's chest, and another on the woman's forehead. The glow of the electricity is not very intense, though you imagine it'll be painful either way.
"Wake up, Debbie," Ray says, her voice low. You don't think anyone but you heard her. "Come on."
The lightning flashes for a moment, and Debora jerks upwards, bashing her back against the wall as she tries to get away from Ray. Her eyes are wide and panicked, growing even more frantic as she catches sight of Charizard's angry mug.
"Welcome back," Ray says. Debora's panic slowly washes away, exhaustion taking over, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused. Ray slaps her cheeks softly. "Come on, no time for another nap, or I'll leave you here."
"You've always had terrible bedside manners, Ray," Debora says. Her voice is distant and weak. "I imagine a prince would get me, but I guess you'll have to do."
Ray smiles softly, nodding at you. You join, grabbing the woman under her knees and shoulders to lift her up and bring her over to one of the half-broken chairs strewn across the room.
"Now that's more like it," Debora says. "Well, looks wise, but you're a bit soft down there—"
You nearly drop her when Sophia slams the chair she pulled from the floor so hard that it shatters. You blink, and Sophia looks somewhat embarrassed by the move before picking up another chair.
"Not that one," Sophia says, trying to laugh it off. You nod, slowly setting Debora on the chair and holding onto it to stop it from wobbling.
"Thank you," Debora says, ignoring the last few seconds. "If you could tell me what's going on, that'd be nice."
You need to learn that from her. The way panic and fear is cut away until you can stay calm even in a situation like this, it'd be invaluable—
"Of course," you say. You try to keep it short, but the story does take longer than you want. The last few days since her disappearance had been busy, after all, but now that she has been found there should be a way to pay off the guards. Even if they deserve not a single coin. "We've found the secret entrance and got knocked down a few floors by Wilhelm."
She does react at the name. Her hand moves to her head, fury in her eyes.
"I guess I can repay the favor," Debora says, her broken fingernails drawing a white line over her cheek as she lowers her hand. "That man was in and out of the high priest's office in the last few weeks. I heard them speak whenever I was in the bedroom."
"You can spare us from that part," Ray says. Sophia nods, crossing her arms. Debora gives them both a wide smile.
"Talking about what?" you ask. You have a feeling that trying to keep the conversation on topic will be a difficult task.
"Promises of power," Debora says. "Wilhelm told Agamemnon that he could become a God."
"Blasphemy, great," Ray says, rolling her eyes. "I imagine he was very interested—"
"He wasn't," Debora says. Ray looks annoyed, but says nothing, letting the woman continue. "Though that man's faults were many, he was not that mad. So when Wilhelm realized sweet words won't get him anywhere, he killed him, then took me down here."
That's a slight escalation from his earlier behavior, then again, though they share name and face, and even that Tauros, it's still hard to believe that this is the same Wilhelm as the one you've met and fought in Wallburg.
"Why did he take you?" you ask. For a moment you can see that fear in her eyes again. That moment of realization of a fate that would have befallen her if you had not come down here and found her. "Debora?"
"Sacrifice," she says, swallowing a lump in her throat. "He's trying to summon something big, something dangerous. My time in the priest's school was brief so I couldn't make out most of it, but before he put me here I saw writings about how the demon was sealed. It took seven souls, seven lives, seven priests of Raikou."
"You went to the priest's school?" Sophia asks. You give her a look and she raises her hands, taking a step back. "Sorry, okay, seven sacrifices to seal a demon— wait, seal?"
"Seal, not kill?" Ray asks, just as confused. "The demi-god is still alive? It's not dead at all?"
The panic in her voice makes the alarm bells in your own head ring louder. The idea of bringing a dead demi-god back to life is ridiculous, even if you thought that might be a possibility he was pursuing.
But breaking a seal on something using a legendary artifact sounds a lot more reasonable.
"That's why he kept us alive," you say, frowning. "That's… four here, he'd need three more."
"He has them," Debora says, pointing at the dark cell. You strain your eyes, looking inside. You can make out two men chained to the wall, one of them wearing a rather fancy guard's uniform. "Them plus us is six, then he is the seventh."
"You think he'd sacrifice himself?" you ask.
"Yes," Ray says, her teeth clenched. "Zealots are worse than blasphemers, you can convince them to do anything for a spark of divinity."
"I think he's willing to do anything, including murdering a high priest and kidnapping the Centurion in one of the holiest cities in Sol," Debora says, nodding at Ray. "And if it unleashes whatever Raikou sealed here, all of Olympia will be leveled."
You feel that chill again. Your dislike for Wilhelm grows stronger, but that's so minor in the face of such an adversity.
Charizard roars. The sound makes the bones inside of your rattle, and you glare up at it, growling back. "What is wrong with you?"
"It's angry," Ray says, her own emotions bleeding into her voice. "The Guardians are probably meant to prevent something like this. The path would be blocked by them without the staff, which he has in his possession."
"Okay," you say, crossing your arms. "To be perfectly honest with you, this goes over my head for the most part. I don't think it changes our plan at all, we're out to kick his ass, take the staff back, and get Debora to her people."
"That's… true," Sophia says. She does not look happy with the prospect of being a human sacrifice. Spring is patting her on the back with its vines, while Winter looks a bit confused at what's going on. Inana grunts, confident she can take whatever comes your way.
You clench your fist over your chest.
The truth is often simple. A mad man follows a mad plan.
The world above is in danger and the only thing that can stop a devastation that will drag tens of thousands people into their death is you. And you will never ask why it is you, you will never care that it is your lot in life.
Maybe your path is so difficult because your calling is higher.
You are Aria, Revolutionary. Aria, Wise. Aria, Hero-in-Training.
You love this world, and the path ahead of you, the magic of life.
So you will believe in magic, just like Ray does.
The situation up top is going to become troublesome very fast and you have to focus on how to approach the fight. Whoever is not fighting with you will aid Sophia and Ray.
[ ] Press forward with Inana.
[ ] Press forward with Perun.
###
AN: No drawing this time, sorry.
Vote closed
Update 18: Righteous Path - End of Arc 3
Elpis
Ostensibly Hope
- Location
- Berlin
Winning Vote:
[X] Press forward with Inana.
###
You take one more break before you finish the final stretch. Though the mood has slowly been improving, the realization that Wilhelm's plan is far bigger and more dangerous than initially expected has made the rest of the climb rather tense.
Debora decided to stay behind, taking care of the other prisoners to make sure they'd survive until the situation was resolved. She did not look very happy to see the Centurion, but still took some rations off your hands to help the man regain his strength.
"Do you have any plans?" Ray asks. You purse your lips.
"Not as such," you admit. She sighs, though it sounds more like resignation, which you vastly prefer to upset. "We got his Tauros knocked out, and we vastly outnumber him. If we can manage to avoid being zapped by the staff, I think we can just overwhelm him. Though his plan involves the unsealing of the demi-god, he can't do it without all his sacrifices, and he can't sacrifice us yet."
"Why do you think so?" Sophia asks. Ray's eyebrows furrow in thought, answering for you.
"Because he'd have done it already," Ray says. You give her a nod, smiling softly. "There's something he has to do before, probably whatever we caught him doing last time. After so long, the demon must be hibernating. Dying in its vicinity can't be the only thing, or it'd have been unsealed by the aging population of Olympia."
"He can't risk killing us because more kidnappings mean more exposure of his operation," you say. It's a solid assumption, but then again, it's not impossible that you're giving the man too much credit. "So if you overwhelm him, and take his staff, he's powerless. I've beaten him before, he's not nearly as good as some other warriors I've met."
"He uses tricks and subterfuge," Sophia says, shrugging. "Inattention and arrogance will be our biggest enemies, an operation like this is ridiculous for a single person."
That is also true, you find. Leif told you Wilhelm started out with petty thefts before moving on to major artifacts, so either he honed his craft or he has slowly escalated to avoid drawing too much attention to himself.
Stealing the Marchioness' flute and a staff that is locked in a vault nobody can access? Maybe you are not giving him enough credit.
"Sneaking didn't work last time, so I'd say we go for the direct option," you say. "Spread out, pincer him. If he focuses on one side, the other swoops in and gets him from behind."
"Yes!" Sophia and Ray say together. The Pokemon grunt on agreement.
Charizard gives you a nod, eager to get started. You see its anger at the possibility of the giant demi-god returning, destroying the resting place that it is meant to protect.
Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy.
###
You're back where you started. You can feel something has changed, though. You don't know how long exactly you were down there, possibly more than a day by now, and you do have a habit of passing out after exerting yourself in combat. You'll have to work on that.
That large cave you enter from a different direction looks much the same, if a bit brighter now. Wilhelm is still standing there, as if he has done nothing but bash the staff against the ground for hours, and as you spread out to surround him, Charizard attacking from above, you hear something.
Something like rustling clothes and the soft hum of a blade.
You draw your blade quickly, holding it up to block the sudden attack from above. Behind her, a yellow light shoots upwards, knocking the Guardian out of the air. Wilhelm is undisturbed, continuing his ritual without turning around.
The woman that attacked you looks… well, like a priestess. Not in the same way that Ray does, her robes are dark and she wears a tiara with the numerals 'II' carved into a gem up front. In her hand is a long, black sheath.
The Priestess draws that long blade. It is thin and sharp, like someone had honed the moon to killing. Her hair is black and long, her eyes pierce you with the color of a dark red sunrise—
She looks beautiful in so many ways that it makes you want to run away.
"I apologize," she says, her voice calm. Ray and Sophia haven't gotten very far, and the yellow something turns out to be a rather large Ampharos, with long white hair and an absurdly fluffy tail. "But I cannot allow you to interrupt him."
"We do not need your permission," you say. She nods, holding her sword up in a pose you've not seen before.
"Perhaps not," she says, "but you will need to defeat me if you wish to continue."
"Okay, change of plans," you say. Charizard is back on its feet, grabbing Amphorus by the neck and lifting it up. "You guys take care of her, I'll go kick Wilhelm's ass."
The Priestess is more skilled than him for sure, but that doesn't mean she can deal with multiple opponents at once. With her Pokemon occupied, and the others joining in to fight Amphorus, you're left with a path to Wilhelm, Inana by your side.
You rush forward, sliding underneath the swing of her blade and watching as Sophia catches it with her own sword. Ray joins in, shocks sent over the woman's hands— you turn your attention to Wilhelm, who has finally turned around. He smiles at you, as if he was waiting.
### Sophia's POV
Sophia is skilled. She has not had time to truly show off to Aria yet, but she knows how to wield a blade, and has been in the field longer than Aria has been. The problem is: so is this woman.
Though dressed in clerical garb, the way she swings her sword reminds her of stories of swordmasters from the Eastern continents. The thin blade does not have the right shape, yet the pressure she puts on with that thin of a hilt makes Sophia grit her teeth.
"You are strong," the priestess says. "May I know your name, Spectrier Knight?"
The black blade comes up and pushes her away, giving Sophia just a moment of rest. Ray has taken a few steps back, choosing to support the efforts instead of fighting in close combat with someone like that.
"I am Sophia," she introduces herself. "And I am Aria's Knight, no Spectrier Guard."
The woman's smile does not leave her face. She spreads her arms, then gives an exaggerated bow. "I am Adelheid, Priestess of the Nameless God. Would you like me to pray for your health?"
"Get back!" Ray shouts. Sophia reacts fast, but not fast enough. As the woman rises from her bow, the sword swings upward and carves the way forward. Sophia has moved her head out of the way, yet the wind carves a gash across her leg. "That sword is filled to the brim with elemental energy, it's really strong while in the tomb!"
"Noted," Sophia says, hissing as the pain from her leg shoots upward. "I suppose it won't be a boring fight, then."
Adelheid follows up with a dance. The way she approaches begins with short steps and becomes a full performance, twirling around Sophia and leaving cuts everywhere. Ray takes aim, but cannot fire off anything without risking injury to her own ally.
It's Winter who saves the day. While Spring is helping Charizard, Perun and Winter stayed behind to help against Adelheid. Using Pokemon to attack people is unchivalrous, but worse than that, it's an affront to the order of the world.
Some say that the gods curse those who would do such a thing. It is an instinct that even most Pokemon understand within themselves, which is why Winter helps by playing defence.
A wall of dirt appears between Sophia and Adelheid, long enough to stop her dance, and long enough for Ray to fire off lightning from a stone. Adelheid points her sword at the lightning, then releases it upward into the ceiling instead of the ground. She cuts the wall, and her blade is caught by Perun, using his frills.
"What a beautiful bond," Adelheid says, her voice rising for the first time. "What an immaculate partnership!"
Pokeballs fall from her sleeves, releasing a Nickit and Purrloin. Purrloin tackles Perun away, while Nickit decides to play tug with Spring's club. Sophia takes a deep breath, regaining her footing, regaining her focus.
"Ray," Sophia says. "Together with me."
Ray doesn't know what that means, but Sophia's movements begin all the same. The black blade comes down into the ground, slight sparks shooting up as the walls of the tomb give off electricity. With one swing, she sends dirt into Adelheid's eyes. The woman flinches back.
Sophia swings her sword back down, and though she cannot see anything, Adelheid blocks it, parrying the swing away from her body and leaving Sophia open. Ray attacks, pieces of ice raining down on Adelheid and stopping the counterattack.
"Perun, help Winter!" Sophia orders. Perun does, rolling onto his back and kicking Purrloin away. The cat gathers dark energy in its mouth, but Perun is already prepared, sending up its own beam of lightning and knocking it far away.
A cage forms around Wilhelm and Aria, but Sophia cannot let herself be distracted. As Perun bites into Nickit's tail, Sophia leaves her sword pointed down, rushing forward with a shoulder charge to meet Adelheid head on.
Adelheid does not block this time. She takes the hit, grunting in pain before wrapping her arm around Sophia. As Ray takes aim again, Adelheid spins around, using Sophia as a shield against the strong current of water that follows. Sophia kicks upward, driving her knee into the woman's stomach. The grip loosens, but so does the priestess' footing, leaving you both to be knocked onto the ground by Ray's water stone.
"We'll have to work on that," Ray comments. It takes all of Sophia's effort not to roll her eyes. She drags herself out of the mud, catching a glimpse of Perun holding Nickit up with his frills while Winter uses her club repeatedly to swing at the fox as if it owes her money—
Adelheid stands up calmly. "Your fighting lacks elegance, but I suppose pragmatism is normal in the lives of the faithless."
"If your faith involves the sacrifice of lives at the altar of your god, I cannot condone it," Ray says. She steps up, holding various stones in her hands. "Your power doesn't come from the sword, it's that tiara, isn't it?"
Surprise is a reaction inherent to every human being. Adelheid raises her hand up to her forehead, as if she could hide the gem from sight. At that moment, a stone underneath her feet exploded with flames. Had her clothes not been wet, she'd have likely burned right there. Instead, she is forced to retreat even further towards the cage that Wilhelm and Aria are fighting in.
"Also you're wrong," Ray says, pointing at her field of red stones that she had slowly hidden across the field. "Pragmatism is something every faithful should be familiar with, it is a good way to convince people to convert."
Sophia jumps back in. The stones will not explode on their own, meaning that any misstep will work out very badly for Adelheid. The woman deflects one blow with her blade, kicking into the gash on Sophia's leg to force her to her knees. The sword pierces into Sophia's shoulder, reaching all the way down and pinning her to the ground.
Sophia refuses to scream in pain.
She really wants to, though.
"If you want to blow me up," Adelheid says, smiling at Ray. "I'm afraid I'll have to take your friend with me. I like those odds."
"Do you?" Sophia asks, her fingers digging into the ground around her as she focuses on anything but pain. "Most people are not so eager to die."
"Dear Sophia," Adelheid says. "I am not most people."
"Sure you aren't." Sophia's fingers find their target. "Winter, now!"
Sophia holds up a large fire stone. One of the real ones, red and orange and yellow. Ray begins to charge it up from afar, and Winter creates a massive flood of dirt all the way up to Sophia's hand. Adelheid's arm is trapped by it, still on the sword pinning Sophia down.
The explosion creates a wall of fire. Adelheid screams in pain, and by the time the blaze ends and Sophia is freed from the earth, what is left is— an intact arm?
Sophia stands up. Her own palm is burned badly, that'll take a while to heal for sure. Regardless, Adelheid is now standing far away, Nickit and Purrloin next to her. She's missing her arm, which looks like it has been ripped off right off her shoulder and is now hanging off the sword that is still stuck in Sophia's shoulder.
She dodged the flames by sacrificing a limb. She does not say anything, she makes no comment. Her eyes move to the cage, and she sees something that Sophia and Ray can't make out. Without a word, her Pokemon return to their Pokeballs, the light shooting up her sleeves.
Amphorus vanishes in a burst of lightning—
And in a flash, Adelheid is gone. Sophia feels her shoulder lighten, noticing that the sword is gone now. The arm is still on the ground, though, showing that whatever happened could not have been an illusion.
"What the fuck?" Ray asks. Sophia just nods, unable to find her voice. The wound on her shoulder is bleeding, and the gash on her leg remains worrying. She has to believe in Aria, there's no way to break through that cage right now.
### Back to Aria's POV
Maybe it was a bit too easy, you think. The Priestess is clearly not so unskilled to let you through so easily, even if you attack her from multiple sides. It makes sense, of course, when you see how happy Wilhelm looks to meet you again.
"Ah, Aria," he says, raising his arms wide. "I admit, I still cannot remember you, but my partner over there has informed me that you've arrested me before. Is that true?"
"I'm not in the mood for games," you say. Inana nods. Sword and shield in hand, you are ready to fight and win once more. Wilhelm looks like he does not think you can do it. "Surrender and this will be painless. Fight me at your own peril."
"I admit, I didn't expect you to get past that guardian over there," Wilhelm says, looking up at Charizard fighting Amphorus. Spring is under them, trying to hold Amphorus down as it uses the electricity around the cave to float. Gumi is redirecting all the lightning that could take Charizard down towards herself. "Then again, you are just full of surprises."
He slams his staff against the ground, and out comes a Drilbur. It looks… off. Its eyes are not all there, its claws glowing blue. It runs at you, and Inana blocks the mole from continuing its charge. They wrestle in a show of strength, the ground under them starting to crack.
Wilhelm sends lightning at you. You are ready, holding your sword to the ground and bending down, making sure that the path of least resistance comes in the form of that Skarmory steel. The lightning dissipates in the ground, leaving cracks everywhere. You don't let him get another shot off, your feet hitting the ground running and your sword swinging for that man's arm. He blocks the attack with the staff, clearly struggling to hold you back.
So you do him a favor and kick his legs out from under him. He yelps as he hits the ground, unwilling to let go of the staff to do his weird acrobatics and stay upright. He kicks forward himself, his back on the ground and both his feet coming at you like spears. You block the attack with your shield, yet find that his own physical strength has improved significantly.
There's no other explanation for why this clown should be able to lift you off the ground with his legs.
You adjust your own torso in the air and brace for impact, bending your knees as you touch the ground. Wilhelm has drawn one of his blades, working with what is familiar, and tries to drive it into your throat.
You hold the knife away using your free hand on his wrist, then turn and pull to send him stumbling forward. Your shield bashes into his arm, but he does not drop the sword. Your sword cuts across his chest before you kick him away again.
"You're such a pain in the ass," Wilhelm says. You shake your head.
"I'm the righteous blade," you say, puffing up your chest, trying your best to imitate his voice and failing miserably. "Would you like to dance, my lady?"
Wilhelm does not seem amused. He throws one of his knives, drawing the other as you block it and drives the other knife into your leg while your shield is high. You hiss, returning the favor by taking the knife out of your shield and stabbing him in the shoulder. He draws the blade out of your flesh, leaving both of you to take a few steps back from each other.
"Fine then," Wilhelm says. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
He stabs the staff into the ground. A bright light envelops the area, and before you can react, a large cage of electricity appears around you, all the way from the wall to right behind you, cutting you off from your allies.
He draws the knife out of his shoulder. Now he looks like the fool that you left bleeding in the snow.
Inana is still fighting the Drillbur, though their wrestling has instead become a rather weird exchange of blows with their sharp claws, continuing to try to cut through each others'.
It's not surprising that you end up doing much the same with Wilhelm. He moves the blades in tandem, trying to slash at you while you keep swinging your sword. Sometimes you are stuck on his hilts, sometimes he gets stuck against yours.
The twist arrives when he miscalculates a stab from above. You bend down slightly, then shove off the ground and drag your sword up, knocking both blades out of his hands. He grabs your head before you can follow up, and slams his forehead into your face. With how close he is now, you can't swing your sword properly, so you have no other choice. You let go of the blade behind you, and return the favor.
"If you still can't remember me kicking your ass," you grab him by his stupid hair and pull back your head. "Then let me refresh your memory!"
Stars fill your vision when you bring down your forehead onto his nose. It breaks with a sickening crunch, blood splattering everywhere. You let go, watching as the man reels back with heavy steps. Both of your faces are now full of blood, but you are more hardheaded, or at the very least more accurate with your headbutt. He's not able to stand straight anymore, and just as you are kicking his ass, Inana has already won against Wilbur, sitting atop the mole and cheering you on.
You give her a theatrical bow as you bend over to lift up your sword again and hold it up against Wilhelm's neck. He stays upright by holding onto— the staff?
Wilhelm stops smiling. Maybe that's not quite accurate, he's not been smiling the entire fight you've been having. But even as his face twisted into disdain and malcontent, his eyes kept reflecting a kind of mirth that is no longer there.
"Seven souls to bind it," he says, holding the staff to the side. "Let's do some calculations, if seven seals are required— are six not enough?"
You frown, withdrawing your blade as electricity gathers around him. If you cut him now, you'll likely take the full brunt of the staff's power. "I think you're going more and more mad, Wilhelm. Just surrender and save all of us the headache."
The staff starts to crackle, he holds it up, and you hold your sword up, once again ready to redirect the blast. Instead of attacking you, however, he does the unthinkable.
"Come to me, Regieleki! Carve your name across this continent, free your brothers and sisters!" The sharp end of the staff pierces into his chest, as if it were made of butter. It sinks deep, clearly taking lungs and heart with it from the sheer amount of blood that spills from his chest and his mouth. Your mouth opens, but no words come out at the sight of the madman's suicide.
Above you, you see one of the red eyes light up. You see chains appear out of thin air, seven in total, and one of them starting to light up and crack.
"If six isn't enough…" you murmur. "What have you done? Wilhelm!"
Your shout is drowned by thunder. A flash of lightning strikes down on the man, the staff becoming a rod that redirects the powerful energy from above directly into his body. The man screams in pain, before the screaming becomes laughter. He should be dead by now, but his skin does not look burnt.
Instead, his hair starts to stand up straight, crackling with lightning. His eyes lose color until all that is left is white and yellow. Even the blood begins to evaporate, flaking away from his body—
After what feels like an eternity and what must have been only the blink of an eye, Wilhelm is gone. Whatever is now in front of you feels more like Ray, yet it looks more like… well, a demon. Solid electricity, if such a thing is even possible, the staff in his chest is the only thing that still looks right to your eyes. He looks like a golem of lightning, whatever lies behind that sheen of yellow is no longer visible to your eyes.
He opens his… his mouth? And out come high-pitched sounds. Beeps and boops. Though you cannot understand the ancient language, you do know whatever it is saying is not kind. It bends its knees, readying an attack.
You can't dodge it. The demon appears in front of you, its fist hitting you where you manage to guess your shield into position. The wood smells like home. The next thing you feel is pain in your arm, and a stinging in your knees as you skid back a solid distance away.
Another high-pitched beep. On its blank face is now one of the red orbs. You dare not glance up, guessing you'll not like what you see up there. This isn't some manifestation of the sealed demi-god, this is it. A seventh of its power, powered by that staff to grant itself those sacrifices it needs to become free again.
You cannot let it escape.
You cannot see a way out of this, either, but that doesn't matter. You do not have a flight reflex when it comes to something like this, for nothing can keep you going like the possibility of innocents being hurt.
"Okay," you say. That's all you can really say. A nod to Inana invites her to the fight, this is no longer a matter between humans. Whatever has taken over Wilhelm's body, Regieleki as he called it, is not something you can face by yourself.
It's truly unfortunate the Guardian isn't here, but then again— are you so full of doubt? Do you truly think you cannot beat this?
Drake did not raise a loser.
So you cannot lose.
The thing appears again, and though fast and powerful it is mostly mindless and without strategy. The exact same punch, the exact same attack, and Inana jumps up from the floor to cut into the electric body with her claws. She gets some of the charge sent back at her, but it lowers the strength of the attack significantly.
Enough for you to stay in range for your own attack. You carve into the body, your sword leaving a trail of air as shocks run up your arm. As you reach the staff that is still embedded in it, it just phases through.
"Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought," you say. Which means you'll have to give it a try without practice again. "Inana, can you freeze my blade?"
Inana looks confused at the suggestion, quickly dragging you out of the way of the demon's swipe. You hold the sword up to her. She drags her claws over the blade, creating bits of ice along the edge. The blade feels like it doubled in weight, even as the ice looks thin and fragile.
"Element cuts element," you say, nodding at Inana. She does the same to her own claws, a thick sheet of icicles appearing. You block another hit, this time deflecting the punch and impaling the demon on your sword. It actually stays stuck on the sword, allowing you to lift it up and swing the sword to throw the demon backwards.
Inana follows up, spinning after a jump to drill a hole into Regieleki.
It looks… angry. Its body twists and shatters, electricity sent into every direction. When it pulls itself together again, the hole is gone. You hear the high-pitched screaming again, this time from above.
What a mess of an opponent.
"Inana," you say. "Any tricks I don't know about?"
Inana rolls her eyes, then gives you a nod. Then, she raises her arm up, pointing at her claw.
"One time only? Okay," you say, nodding again. "Then lets make it count."
The ice on the sword is still there, so you have another chance. You don't let it recover any further, jumping back into the fray and stabbing the sword into it, driving the sword into the ground. You start roaring in anger when it tries to resist, and it feels like your voice beats it back down and forces it to stay.
Inana appears behind you and starts charging… something. You move out of the way, staring up at the rather large dark orb that begins pulsing above Inana. She looks exhausted already, but she does not let up. The dark sphere moves forward, hitting and engulfing the demon.
It takes a solid minute before the screaming stops, but when all is said and done, only the staff remains. You sigh in relief, it's over. You give Inana a thumbs up, and she returns a salute before falling onto her back, breathing heavily.
You turn around, catching sight of your friends alone, the Priestess nowhere to be seen. You try to give them a thumbs up as well, but something behind you begins rumbling.
The staff starts floating up. Your eyes widen, going to your knees in front of Inana and raising your shield to stop whatever is coming. It reforms in a flash, and the ground underneath your feet begins to glow bright and yellow, the world of empty stone becoming electricity manifest.
It does not say anything before appearing behind you. This time, it kicks you, and you cannot help but scream at the pain that shoots through your entire body. The force knocks you away, and you roll over the floor until you're near the edge of the cage.
"Aria!" you hear Sophia's voice in the distance. "Aria, stand up!"
You want to. You really do, but you cannot. The shocks through your body hold you down, your limbs all numb.
It beeps once more, and you turn your head to find it kicking your sword that was left on the ground after Inana's attack. The sword bounces a few times before ending up right next to you.
'Come,' the demon seems to say. 'Stand up and fight me.'
That must be Wilhelm still bleeding through that monstrous appearance. Inana shouts something, forcing herself to stand up. The demon turns around, beeping at her. Inana makes a rude gesture, and then dodges the flash of lightning that follows.
"Aria!" Ray's voice joins Sophia's. "This isn't the time to fall asleep!"
You wheeze out something that sounds like language to you. You can't lie down here. You can't stop here. You can't give up.
You grab the hilt of your sword and use it as leverage, pulling yourself up by its hilt. Inana is still dancing around the demon, distracting it. If you fail here, people will die. Thousands of them, including your friends, including your partners. And this close to the border, who knows how fast the emperor will send help?
Where will Regieleki stop? What are borders to a god?
"Have faith, but never lose yourself to it!" Ray shouts. "Believe, but do not let belief fool you! Aria, that thing isn't a god! You can win!"
"Our journey just started," Sophia says, "there's still so many things we have to experience together! There's so much I have to say to you! Aria, get up and beat that monster!"
You grunt in agreement. You know you can beat it. You were just… taking a short break. Catching your breath.
As soon as you are able to stand straight, you hold your sword up with both hands. It's not the size of Drake's sword, but right now it feels like it is in your hands. You feel… powerful.
And once again, the thing's eyes flash and it asks you a question. This time, you understand it. This time, you know exactly what it is trying to say, to ask.
"Who are you?" it asks.
"Why is my name ▅▅▅▅?"
"It's the name your mother gave you," Grandma says. "Not your adoptive mother, no, the one that gave birth to you. I know you don't like it, princess, but I'd still like it if you could keep it in your heart."
You hear your blood rushing in your ears. You hear the cry of the world, and the people, and the sun.
That energy that you harvested, that boost of power that let you face the Guardian Charizard, is no longer here. That tug of war is won by the other side this time, and you can feel the breath of the stars on your lips—
"If you ever feel doubt in yourself, know that she loves you," Grandma says, her hand is warm on your face, her smile is beautiful. "And if you need her, call the name she gave you."
The sword in your hand resonates. Steel sharpens steel. Inana stands with you, not in front of you or behind you, but right by your side where she belongs.
"And do not say it meekly, dear." Grandma rubs her fingers through your hair, ruining the hairdo that the maids have been working on so hard the entire morning. "Say it loud, and be proud of it. Take a deep breath and shout it at the top of your lungs—"
A hole appears in the ceiling. Sunlight streams down between dirt and stone, and you can hear the people of Olympia shouting down. You hear the people who put their faith in you. You hear the righteous path like a choir in the back of your spine.
"I am Aria," you say, loud and proud. The sword in your hand sings. You hold the blade to your face, closing your eyes in deep thought. "I am Adrianne!"
Not was or will be. Your name shakes the earth, and your blade carves mountains across continents. With a swing of the sword, the demon is pushed back until it hits the far wall of the cave. With another swing, you cut the distance between the two of you.
Inana appears next to you once more, mirroring your attacks and cutting into the demon with her claws. It begins with one, carving shoulders to waist. The electricity reforms, and it tries to move, but then comes two: hip to throat.
Head to legs. Knees to chest. You become faster, each attacking slowly removing piece by piece of the demi-god's influence on Wilhelm's body. Slowly, but surely, you see the man's charred corpse underneath it all and know that this is your chance.
You reach out and grab the staff. The high-pitched voice turns into a long screaming-like noise, desperation audible to anyone who is listening. You cannot show mercy, and though you know that this spirit yearns to be free, it cannot be today.
"Inana!" you order, pulling with all your strength. "DESTROY IT!"
Inana does not hesitate. You feel something inside your pockets warm up, a bright light enveloping the Sneasel that has been your trusted companion since your departure from the Order. As her claws come up to shatter the staff, her body changes, growing slightly, the blue feather on her ear turning into a headdress.
Inana evolved into a Weavile.
And that Weavile's sharp claws carved the staff apart like it was nothing but paper.
"No!" Wilhelm shouts. You try to contain your surprise as you hear his voice, charred and broken from his sacrifice. "I cannot fail here, I cannot!" His eyes return to normal, and though they are unfocused you can see the recognition in them. "AriaaaAAAAAAAA!"
"You finally remember me," you say, smiling widely. You lower your sword, raising a fist instead. "Goodbye, Wilhelm. This time, please stay down."
Your punch knocks him out. He will not survive those injuries, but at the very least, he will not suffer the pain any longer.
You fall backwards, letting Inana catch you. Your body feels broken in so many ways, burnt in so many places. Exhaustion takes over, allowing you to move only your head. To your left, you see the electric cage finally dissipating, and your friends rushing towards you, worry in their eyes.
To your right you find yourself staring at what remains of your sword. It's broken beyond recognition, shattered in so many pieces even the most talented of smiths will never be able to repair it.
You sigh as you close your eyes. Drake is going to be so upset…
Though it was brief, it was brilliant. Divinity is a different kind of beast, and yet the indomitable spirit of your soul would not bow down to the demon that Wilhelm had summoned into his body.
Inana has evolved. That proud Sneasel is now a very, very proud Weavile. Your Authority has become Adept. Your voice commands respect. You are— Adrianne. Once upon a time, that was your name, all eight letters in the shape of a smile on the face of a girl holding the hand of her grandmother.
You never truly hated that name, did you?
Ray says that there's no rhyme or reason for the attention of deities, so maybe that's the case for you, even if there's this nagging voice in the back of your mind telling you otherwise.
That tug of war is still going on. You dream of them, those strange beings that have so much control over the world.
You dream of…
[ ] A young serpent that dreams of devouring the sky one day.
[ ] Stardust and prayers chasing the light of the sun.
###
Really quick and dirty sketch (I am not on my main PC with my main setup and my main program)
The Priestess Adelheid
[X] Press forward with Inana.
###
You take one more break before you finish the final stretch. Though the mood has slowly been improving, the realization that Wilhelm's plan is far bigger and more dangerous than initially expected has made the rest of the climb rather tense.
Debora decided to stay behind, taking care of the other prisoners to make sure they'd survive until the situation was resolved. She did not look very happy to see the Centurion, but still took some rations off your hands to help the man regain his strength.
"Do you have any plans?" Ray asks. You purse your lips.
"Not as such," you admit. She sighs, though it sounds more like resignation, which you vastly prefer to upset. "We got his Tauros knocked out, and we vastly outnumber him. If we can manage to avoid being zapped by the staff, I think we can just overwhelm him. Though his plan involves the unsealing of the demi-god, he can't do it without all his sacrifices, and he can't sacrifice us yet."
"Why do you think so?" Sophia asks. Ray's eyebrows furrow in thought, answering for you.
"Because he'd have done it already," Ray says. You give her a nod, smiling softly. "There's something he has to do before, probably whatever we caught him doing last time. After so long, the demon must be hibernating. Dying in its vicinity can't be the only thing, or it'd have been unsealed by the aging population of Olympia."
"He can't risk killing us because more kidnappings mean more exposure of his operation," you say. It's a solid assumption, but then again, it's not impossible that you're giving the man too much credit. "So if you overwhelm him, and take his staff, he's powerless. I've beaten him before, he's not nearly as good as some other warriors I've met."
"He uses tricks and subterfuge," Sophia says, shrugging. "Inattention and arrogance will be our biggest enemies, an operation like this is ridiculous for a single person."
That is also true, you find. Leif told you Wilhelm started out with petty thefts before moving on to major artifacts, so either he honed his craft or he has slowly escalated to avoid drawing too much attention to himself.
Stealing the Marchioness' flute and a staff that is locked in a vault nobody can access? Maybe you are not giving him enough credit.
"Sneaking didn't work last time, so I'd say we go for the direct option," you say. "Spread out, pincer him. If he focuses on one side, the other swoops in and gets him from behind."
"Yes!" Sophia and Ray say together. The Pokemon grunt on agreement.
Charizard gives you a nod, eager to get started. You see its anger at the possibility of the giant demi-god returning, destroying the resting place that it is meant to protect.
Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy.
###
You're back where you started. You can feel something has changed, though. You don't know how long exactly you were down there, possibly more than a day by now, and you do have a habit of passing out after exerting yourself in combat. You'll have to work on that.
That large cave you enter from a different direction looks much the same, if a bit brighter now. Wilhelm is still standing there, as if he has done nothing but bash the staff against the ground for hours, and as you spread out to surround him, Charizard attacking from above, you hear something.
Something like rustling clothes and the soft hum of a blade.
You draw your blade quickly, holding it up to block the sudden attack from above. Behind her, a yellow light shoots upwards, knocking the Guardian out of the air. Wilhelm is undisturbed, continuing his ritual without turning around.
The woman that attacked you looks… well, like a priestess. Not in the same way that Ray does, her robes are dark and she wears a tiara with the numerals 'II' carved into a gem up front. In her hand is a long, black sheath.
The Priestess draws that long blade. It is thin and sharp, like someone had honed the moon to killing. Her hair is black and long, her eyes pierce you with the color of a dark red sunrise—
She looks beautiful in so many ways that it makes you want to run away.
"I apologize," she says, her voice calm. Ray and Sophia haven't gotten very far, and the yellow something turns out to be a rather large Ampharos, with long white hair and an absurdly fluffy tail. "But I cannot allow you to interrupt him."
"We do not need your permission," you say. She nods, holding her sword up in a pose you've not seen before.
"Perhaps not," she says, "but you will need to defeat me if you wish to continue."
"Okay, change of plans," you say. Charizard is back on its feet, grabbing Amphorus by the neck and lifting it up. "You guys take care of her, I'll go kick Wilhelm's ass."
The Priestess is more skilled than him for sure, but that doesn't mean she can deal with multiple opponents at once. With her Pokemon occupied, and the others joining in to fight Amphorus, you're left with a path to Wilhelm, Inana by your side.
You rush forward, sliding underneath the swing of her blade and watching as Sophia catches it with her own sword. Ray joins in, shocks sent over the woman's hands— you turn your attention to Wilhelm, who has finally turned around. He smiles at you, as if he was waiting.
### Sophia's POV
Sophia is skilled. She has not had time to truly show off to Aria yet, but she knows how to wield a blade, and has been in the field longer than Aria has been. The problem is: so is this woman.
Though dressed in clerical garb, the way she swings her sword reminds her of stories of swordmasters from the Eastern continents. The thin blade does not have the right shape, yet the pressure she puts on with that thin of a hilt makes Sophia grit her teeth.
"You are strong," the priestess says. "May I know your name, Spectrier Knight?"
The black blade comes up and pushes her away, giving Sophia just a moment of rest. Ray has taken a few steps back, choosing to support the efforts instead of fighting in close combat with someone like that.
"I am Sophia," she introduces herself. "And I am Aria's Knight, no Spectrier Guard."
The woman's smile does not leave her face. She spreads her arms, then gives an exaggerated bow. "I am Adelheid, Priestess of the Nameless God. Would you like me to pray for your health?"
"Get back!" Ray shouts. Sophia reacts fast, but not fast enough. As the woman rises from her bow, the sword swings upward and carves the way forward. Sophia has moved her head out of the way, yet the wind carves a gash across her leg. "That sword is filled to the brim with elemental energy, it's really strong while in the tomb!"
"Noted," Sophia says, hissing as the pain from her leg shoots upward. "I suppose it won't be a boring fight, then."
Adelheid follows up with a dance. The way she approaches begins with short steps and becomes a full performance, twirling around Sophia and leaving cuts everywhere. Ray takes aim, but cannot fire off anything without risking injury to her own ally.
It's Winter who saves the day. While Spring is helping Charizard, Perun and Winter stayed behind to help against Adelheid. Using Pokemon to attack people is unchivalrous, but worse than that, it's an affront to the order of the world.
Some say that the gods curse those who would do such a thing. It is an instinct that even most Pokemon understand within themselves, which is why Winter helps by playing defence.
A wall of dirt appears between Sophia and Adelheid, long enough to stop her dance, and long enough for Ray to fire off lightning from a stone. Adelheid points her sword at the lightning, then releases it upward into the ceiling instead of the ground. She cuts the wall, and her blade is caught by Perun, using his frills.
"What a beautiful bond," Adelheid says, her voice rising for the first time. "What an immaculate partnership!"
Pokeballs fall from her sleeves, releasing a Nickit and Purrloin. Purrloin tackles Perun away, while Nickit decides to play tug with Spring's club. Sophia takes a deep breath, regaining her footing, regaining her focus.
"Ray," Sophia says. "Together with me."
Ray doesn't know what that means, but Sophia's movements begin all the same. The black blade comes down into the ground, slight sparks shooting up as the walls of the tomb give off electricity. With one swing, she sends dirt into Adelheid's eyes. The woman flinches back.
Sophia swings her sword back down, and though she cannot see anything, Adelheid blocks it, parrying the swing away from her body and leaving Sophia open. Ray attacks, pieces of ice raining down on Adelheid and stopping the counterattack.
"Perun, help Winter!" Sophia orders. Perun does, rolling onto his back and kicking Purrloin away. The cat gathers dark energy in its mouth, but Perun is already prepared, sending up its own beam of lightning and knocking it far away.
A cage forms around Wilhelm and Aria, but Sophia cannot let herself be distracted. As Perun bites into Nickit's tail, Sophia leaves her sword pointed down, rushing forward with a shoulder charge to meet Adelheid head on.
Adelheid does not block this time. She takes the hit, grunting in pain before wrapping her arm around Sophia. As Ray takes aim again, Adelheid spins around, using Sophia as a shield against the strong current of water that follows. Sophia kicks upward, driving her knee into the woman's stomach. The grip loosens, but so does the priestess' footing, leaving you both to be knocked onto the ground by Ray's water stone.
"We'll have to work on that," Ray comments. It takes all of Sophia's effort not to roll her eyes. She drags herself out of the mud, catching a glimpse of Perun holding Nickit up with his frills while Winter uses her club repeatedly to swing at the fox as if it owes her money—
Adelheid stands up calmly. "Your fighting lacks elegance, but I suppose pragmatism is normal in the lives of the faithless."
"If your faith involves the sacrifice of lives at the altar of your god, I cannot condone it," Ray says. She steps up, holding various stones in her hands. "Your power doesn't come from the sword, it's that tiara, isn't it?"
Surprise is a reaction inherent to every human being. Adelheid raises her hand up to her forehead, as if she could hide the gem from sight. At that moment, a stone underneath her feet exploded with flames. Had her clothes not been wet, she'd have likely burned right there. Instead, she is forced to retreat even further towards the cage that Wilhelm and Aria are fighting in.
"Also you're wrong," Ray says, pointing at her field of red stones that she had slowly hidden across the field. "Pragmatism is something every faithful should be familiar with, it is a good way to convince people to convert."
Sophia jumps back in. The stones will not explode on their own, meaning that any misstep will work out very badly for Adelheid. The woman deflects one blow with her blade, kicking into the gash on Sophia's leg to force her to her knees. The sword pierces into Sophia's shoulder, reaching all the way down and pinning her to the ground.
Sophia refuses to scream in pain.
She really wants to, though.
"If you want to blow me up," Adelheid says, smiling at Ray. "I'm afraid I'll have to take your friend with me. I like those odds."
"Do you?" Sophia asks, her fingers digging into the ground around her as she focuses on anything but pain. "Most people are not so eager to die."
"Dear Sophia," Adelheid says. "I am not most people."
"Sure you aren't." Sophia's fingers find their target. "Winter, now!"
Sophia holds up a large fire stone. One of the real ones, red and orange and yellow. Ray begins to charge it up from afar, and Winter creates a massive flood of dirt all the way up to Sophia's hand. Adelheid's arm is trapped by it, still on the sword pinning Sophia down.
The explosion creates a wall of fire. Adelheid screams in pain, and by the time the blaze ends and Sophia is freed from the earth, what is left is— an intact arm?
Sophia stands up. Her own palm is burned badly, that'll take a while to heal for sure. Regardless, Adelheid is now standing far away, Nickit and Purrloin next to her. She's missing her arm, which looks like it has been ripped off right off her shoulder and is now hanging off the sword that is still stuck in Sophia's shoulder.
She dodged the flames by sacrificing a limb. She does not say anything, she makes no comment. Her eyes move to the cage, and she sees something that Sophia and Ray can't make out. Without a word, her Pokemon return to their Pokeballs, the light shooting up her sleeves.
Amphorus vanishes in a burst of lightning—
And in a flash, Adelheid is gone. Sophia feels her shoulder lighten, noticing that the sword is gone now. The arm is still on the ground, though, showing that whatever happened could not have been an illusion.
"What the fuck?" Ray asks. Sophia just nods, unable to find her voice. The wound on her shoulder is bleeding, and the gash on her leg remains worrying. She has to believe in Aria, there's no way to break through that cage right now.
### Back to Aria's POV
Maybe it was a bit too easy, you think. The Priestess is clearly not so unskilled to let you through so easily, even if you attack her from multiple sides. It makes sense, of course, when you see how happy Wilhelm looks to meet you again.
"Ah, Aria," he says, raising his arms wide. "I admit, I still cannot remember you, but my partner over there has informed me that you've arrested me before. Is that true?"
"I'm not in the mood for games," you say. Inana nods. Sword and shield in hand, you are ready to fight and win once more. Wilhelm looks like he does not think you can do it. "Surrender and this will be painless. Fight me at your own peril."
"I admit, I didn't expect you to get past that guardian over there," Wilhelm says, looking up at Charizard fighting Amphorus. Spring is under them, trying to hold Amphorus down as it uses the electricity around the cave to float. Gumi is redirecting all the lightning that could take Charizard down towards herself. "Then again, you are just full of surprises."
He slams his staff against the ground, and out comes a Drilbur. It looks… off. Its eyes are not all there, its claws glowing blue. It runs at you, and Inana blocks the mole from continuing its charge. They wrestle in a show of strength, the ground under them starting to crack.
Wilhelm sends lightning at you. You are ready, holding your sword to the ground and bending down, making sure that the path of least resistance comes in the form of that Skarmory steel. The lightning dissipates in the ground, leaving cracks everywhere. You don't let him get another shot off, your feet hitting the ground running and your sword swinging for that man's arm. He blocks the attack with the staff, clearly struggling to hold you back.
So you do him a favor and kick his legs out from under him. He yelps as he hits the ground, unwilling to let go of the staff to do his weird acrobatics and stay upright. He kicks forward himself, his back on the ground and both his feet coming at you like spears. You block the attack with your shield, yet find that his own physical strength has improved significantly.
There's no other explanation for why this clown should be able to lift you off the ground with his legs.
You adjust your own torso in the air and brace for impact, bending your knees as you touch the ground. Wilhelm has drawn one of his blades, working with what is familiar, and tries to drive it into your throat.
You hold the knife away using your free hand on his wrist, then turn and pull to send him stumbling forward. Your shield bashes into his arm, but he does not drop the sword. Your sword cuts across his chest before you kick him away again.
"You're such a pain in the ass," Wilhelm says. You shake your head.
"I'm the righteous blade," you say, puffing up your chest, trying your best to imitate his voice and failing miserably. "Would you like to dance, my lady?"
Wilhelm does not seem amused. He throws one of his knives, drawing the other as you block it and drives the other knife into your leg while your shield is high. You hiss, returning the favor by taking the knife out of your shield and stabbing him in the shoulder. He draws the blade out of your flesh, leaving both of you to take a few steps back from each other.
"Fine then," Wilhelm says. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
He stabs the staff into the ground. A bright light envelops the area, and before you can react, a large cage of electricity appears around you, all the way from the wall to right behind you, cutting you off from your allies.
He draws the knife out of his shoulder. Now he looks like the fool that you left bleeding in the snow.
Inana is still fighting the Drillbur, though their wrestling has instead become a rather weird exchange of blows with their sharp claws, continuing to try to cut through each others'.
It's not surprising that you end up doing much the same with Wilhelm. He moves the blades in tandem, trying to slash at you while you keep swinging your sword. Sometimes you are stuck on his hilts, sometimes he gets stuck against yours.
The twist arrives when he miscalculates a stab from above. You bend down slightly, then shove off the ground and drag your sword up, knocking both blades out of his hands. He grabs your head before you can follow up, and slams his forehead into your face. With how close he is now, you can't swing your sword properly, so you have no other choice. You let go of the blade behind you, and return the favor.
"If you still can't remember me kicking your ass," you grab him by his stupid hair and pull back your head. "Then let me refresh your memory!"
Stars fill your vision when you bring down your forehead onto his nose. It breaks with a sickening crunch, blood splattering everywhere. You let go, watching as the man reels back with heavy steps. Both of your faces are now full of blood, but you are more hardheaded, or at the very least more accurate with your headbutt. He's not able to stand straight anymore, and just as you are kicking his ass, Inana has already won against Wilbur, sitting atop the mole and cheering you on.
You give her a theatrical bow as you bend over to lift up your sword again and hold it up against Wilhelm's neck. He stays upright by holding onto— the staff?
Wilhelm stops smiling. Maybe that's not quite accurate, he's not been smiling the entire fight you've been having. But even as his face twisted into disdain and malcontent, his eyes kept reflecting a kind of mirth that is no longer there.
"Seven souls to bind it," he says, holding the staff to the side. "Let's do some calculations, if seven seals are required— are six not enough?"
You frown, withdrawing your blade as electricity gathers around him. If you cut him now, you'll likely take the full brunt of the staff's power. "I think you're going more and more mad, Wilhelm. Just surrender and save all of us the headache."
The staff starts to crackle, he holds it up, and you hold your sword up, once again ready to redirect the blast. Instead of attacking you, however, he does the unthinkable.
"Come to me, Regieleki! Carve your name across this continent, free your brothers and sisters!" The sharp end of the staff pierces into his chest, as if it were made of butter. It sinks deep, clearly taking lungs and heart with it from the sheer amount of blood that spills from his chest and his mouth. Your mouth opens, but no words come out at the sight of the madman's suicide.
Above you, you see one of the red eyes light up. You see chains appear out of thin air, seven in total, and one of them starting to light up and crack.
"If six isn't enough…" you murmur. "What have you done? Wilhelm!"
Your shout is drowned by thunder. A flash of lightning strikes down on the man, the staff becoming a rod that redirects the powerful energy from above directly into his body. The man screams in pain, before the screaming becomes laughter. He should be dead by now, but his skin does not look burnt.
Instead, his hair starts to stand up straight, crackling with lightning. His eyes lose color until all that is left is white and yellow. Even the blood begins to evaporate, flaking away from his body—
After what feels like an eternity and what must have been only the blink of an eye, Wilhelm is gone. Whatever is now in front of you feels more like Ray, yet it looks more like… well, a demon. Solid electricity, if such a thing is even possible, the staff in his chest is the only thing that still looks right to your eyes. He looks like a golem of lightning, whatever lies behind that sheen of yellow is no longer visible to your eyes.
He opens his… his mouth? And out come high-pitched sounds. Beeps and boops. Though you cannot understand the ancient language, you do know whatever it is saying is not kind. It bends its knees, readying an attack.
You can't dodge it. The demon appears in front of you, its fist hitting you where you manage to guess your shield into position. The wood smells like home. The next thing you feel is pain in your arm, and a stinging in your knees as you skid back a solid distance away.
Another high-pitched beep. On its blank face is now one of the red orbs. You dare not glance up, guessing you'll not like what you see up there. This isn't some manifestation of the sealed demi-god, this is it. A seventh of its power, powered by that staff to grant itself those sacrifices it needs to become free again.
You cannot let it escape.
You cannot see a way out of this, either, but that doesn't matter. You do not have a flight reflex when it comes to something like this, for nothing can keep you going like the possibility of innocents being hurt.
"Okay," you say. That's all you can really say. A nod to Inana invites her to the fight, this is no longer a matter between humans. Whatever has taken over Wilhelm's body, Regieleki as he called it, is not something you can face by yourself.
It's truly unfortunate the Guardian isn't here, but then again— are you so full of doubt? Do you truly think you cannot beat this?
Drake did not raise a loser.
So you cannot lose.
The thing appears again, and though fast and powerful it is mostly mindless and without strategy. The exact same punch, the exact same attack, and Inana jumps up from the floor to cut into the electric body with her claws. She gets some of the charge sent back at her, but it lowers the strength of the attack significantly.
Enough for you to stay in range for your own attack. You carve into the body, your sword leaving a trail of air as shocks run up your arm. As you reach the staff that is still embedded in it, it just phases through.
"Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought," you say. Which means you'll have to give it a try without practice again. "Inana, can you freeze my blade?"
Inana looks confused at the suggestion, quickly dragging you out of the way of the demon's swipe. You hold the sword up to her. She drags her claws over the blade, creating bits of ice along the edge. The blade feels like it doubled in weight, even as the ice looks thin and fragile.
"Element cuts element," you say, nodding at Inana. She does the same to her own claws, a thick sheet of icicles appearing. You block another hit, this time deflecting the punch and impaling the demon on your sword. It actually stays stuck on the sword, allowing you to lift it up and swing the sword to throw the demon backwards.
Inana follows up, spinning after a jump to drill a hole into Regieleki.
It looks… angry. Its body twists and shatters, electricity sent into every direction. When it pulls itself together again, the hole is gone. You hear the high-pitched screaming again, this time from above.
What a mess of an opponent.
"Inana," you say. "Any tricks I don't know about?"
Inana rolls her eyes, then gives you a nod. Then, she raises her arm up, pointing at her claw.
"One time only? Okay," you say, nodding again. "Then lets make it count."
The ice on the sword is still there, so you have another chance. You don't let it recover any further, jumping back into the fray and stabbing the sword into it, driving the sword into the ground. You start roaring in anger when it tries to resist, and it feels like your voice beats it back down and forces it to stay.
Inana appears behind you and starts charging… something. You move out of the way, staring up at the rather large dark orb that begins pulsing above Inana. She looks exhausted already, but she does not let up. The dark sphere moves forward, hitting and engulfing the demon.
It takes a solid minute before the screaming stops, but when all is said and done, only the staff remains. You sigh in relief, it's over. You give Inana a thumbs up, and she returns a salute before falling onto her back, breathing heavily.
You turn around, catching sight of your friends alone, the Priestess nowhere to be seen. You try to give them a thumbs up as well, but something behind you begins rumbling.
The staff starts floating up. Your eyes widen, going to your knees in front of Inana and raising your shield to stop whatever is coming. It reforms in a flash, and the ground underneath your feet begins to glow bright and yellow, the world of empty stone becoming electricity manifest.
It does not say anything before appearing behind you. This time, it kicks you, and you cannot help but scream at the pain that shoots through your entire body. The force knocks you away, and you roll over the floor until you're near the edge of the cage.
"Aria!" you hear Sophia's voice in the distance. "Aria, stand up!"
You want to. You really do, but you cannot. The shocks through your body hold you down, your limbs all numb.
It beeps once more, and you turn your head to find it kicking your sword that was left on the ground after Inana's attack. The sword bounces a few times before ending up right next to you.
'Come,' the demon seems to say. 'Stand up and fight me.'
That must be Wilhelm still bleeding through that monstrous appearance. Inana shouts something, forcing herself to stand up. The demon turns around, beeping at her. Inana makes a rude gesture, and then dodges the flash of lightning that follows.
"Aria!" Ray's voice joins Sophia's. "This isn't the time to fall asleep!"
You wheeze out something that sounds like language to you. You can't lie down here. You can't stop here. You can't give up.
You grab the hilt of your sword and use it as leverage, pulling yourself up by its hilt. Inana is still dancing around the demon, distracting it. If you fail here, people will die. Thousands of them, including your friends, including your partners. And this close to the border, who knows how fast the emperor will send help?
Where will Regieleki stop? What are borders to a god?
"Have faith, but never lose yourself to it!" Ray shouts. "Believe, but do not let belief fool you! Aria, that thing isn't a god! You can win!"
"Our journey just started," Sophia says, "there's still so many things we have to experience together! There's so much I have to say to you! Aria, get up and beat that monster!"
You grunt in agreement. You know you can beat it. You were just… taking a short break. Catching your breath.
As soon as you are able to stand straight, you hold your sword up with both hands. It's not the size of Drake's sword, but right now it feels like it is in your hands. You feel… powerful.
And once again, the thing's eyes flash and it asks you a question. This time, you understand it. This time, you know exactly what it is trying to say, to ask.
"Who are you?" it asks.
"Why is my name ▅▅▅▅?"
"It's the name your mother gave you," Grandma says. "Not your adoptive mother, no, the one that gave birth to you. I know you don't like it, princess, but I'd still like it if you could keep it in your heart."
You hear your blood rushing in your ears. You hear the cry of the world, and the people, and the sun.
That energy that you harvested, that boost of power that let you face the Guardian Charizard, is no longer here. That tug of war is won by the other side this time, and you can feel the breath of the stars on your lips—
"If you ever feel doubt in yourself, know that she loves you," Grandma says, her hand is warm on your face, her smile is beautiful. "And if you need her, call the name she gave you."
The sword in your hand resonates. Steel sharpens steel. Inana stands with you, not in front of you or behind you, but right by your side where she belongs.
"And do not say it meekly, dear." Grandma rubs her fingers through your hair, ruining the hairdo that the maids have been working on so hard the entire morning. "Say it loud, and be proud of it. Take a deep breath and shout it at the top of your lungs—"
A hole appears in the ceiling. Sunlight streams down between dirt and stone, and you can hear the people of Olympia shouting down. You hear the people who put their faith in you. You hear the righteous path like a choir in the back of your spine.
"I am Aria," you say, loud and proud. The sword in your hand sings. You hold the blade to your face, closing your eyes in deep thought. "I am Adrianne!"
Not was or will be. Your name shakes the earth, and your blade carves mountains across continents. With a swing of the sword, the demon is pushed back until it hits the far wall of the cave. With another swing, you cut the distance between the two of you.
Inana appears next to you once more, mirroring your attacks and cutting into the demon with her claws. It begins with one, carving shoulders to waist. The electricity reforms, and it tries to move, but then comes two: hip to throat.
Head to legs. Knees to chest. You become faster, each attacking slowly removing piece by piece of the demi-god's influence on Wilhelm's body. Slowly, but surely, you see the man's charred corpse underneath it all and know that this is your chance.
You reach out and grab the staff. The high-pitched voice turns into a long screaming-like noise, desperation audible to anyone who is listening. You cannot show mercy, and though you know that this spirit yearns to be free, it cannot be today.
"Inana!" you order, pulling with all your strength. "DESTROY IT!"
Inana does not hesitate. You feel something inside your pockets warm up, a bright light enveloping the Sneasel that has been your trusted companion since your departure from the Order. As her claws come up to shatter the staff, her body changes, growing slightly, the blue feather on her ear turning into a headdress.
Inana evolved into a Weavile.
And that Weavile's sharp claws carved the staff apart like it was nothing but paper.
"No!" Wilhelm shouts. You try to contain your surprise as you hear his voice, charred and broken from his sacrifice. "I cannot fail here, I cannot!" His eyes return to normal, and though they are unfocused you can see the recognition in them. "AriaaaAAAAAAAA!"
"You finally remember me," you say, smiling widely. You lower your sword, raising a fist instead. "Goodbye, Wilhelm. This time, please stay down."
Your punch knocks him out. He will not survive those injuries, but at the very least, he will not suffer the pain any longer.
You fall backwards, letting Inana catch you. Your body feels broken in so many ways, burnt in so many places. Exhaustion takes over, allowing you to move only your head. To your left, you see the electric cage finally dissipating, and your friends rushing towards you, worry in their eyes.
To your right you find yourself staring at what remains of your sword. It's broken beyond recognition, shattered in so many pieces even the most talented of smiths will never be able to repair it.
You sigh as you close your eyes. Drake is going to be so upset…
Though it was brief, it was brilliant. Divinity is a different kind of beast, and yet the indomitable spirit of your soul would not bow down to the demon that Wilhelm had summoned into his body.
Inana has evolved. That proud Sneasel is now a very, very proud Weavile. Your Authority has become Adept. Your voice commands respect. You are— Adrianne. Once upon a time, that was your name, all eight letters in the shape of a smile on the face of a girl holding the hand of her grandmother.
You never truly hated that name, did you?
Ray says that there's no rhyme or reason for the attention of deities, so maybe that's the case for you, even if there's this nagging voice in the back of your mind telling you otherwise.
That tug of war is still going on. You dream of them, those strange beings that have so much control over the world.
You dream of…
[ ] A young serpent that dreams of devouring the sky one day.
[ ] Stardust and prayers chasing the light of the sun.
End of Arc 3
To be continued in:
Arc 4: The Crown-Prince
To be continued in:
Arc 4: The Crown-Prince
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Really quick and dirty sketch (I am not on my main PC with my main setup and my main program)
The Priestess Adelheid
