NOVPUBBeneath the crumbling glass dome of the barrier, atop the obsidian towers of the Fortress Zhenha, a woman stood alone.
Clad in ivory threads woven with shadow, her long white hair cascaded like a frozen waterfall, pooling at her feet. Delicate strands shimmered with a ghostly luster, highlighted by the array of golden fragments falling from the sky.
White roses decorated her dress and hair, petals preserved in time, a deathless bloom. Some nestled above her ear, some tucked against the folds of her flowing sleeves.
Ribbons framed the roses, contrasting them with a deep blue, cool as dusk light and highlighting the purity of the white roses.
Her skin bore a faint bronze hue, opposite to the ghostly white of her attire. Her ears, slender and elongated, different to the usual ears seen in the east. Instead, they are reminiscent of certain bloodlines in Extalia.
Her eyes matched that of a stormy sea. A deep greyish blue yet at the edges of her iris lay a ring of crimson.
Behind her hair floated a vertical crown of light. Neither flame nor halo. Instead, it was more akin to a thin ring of radiant threads carefully woven into a gold lined arc that shimmered with energy.
"My Lady." A subordinate knelt down at the edge, making sure not to step any closer in fear of disturbing the Abyss Lord.
"I had heard whispers of a Lord intervening in the last battle hence I decided to join. Even going as far as to erect this barrier for you. However. . ." Her voice trailed off like falling petals, soft and delicate.
"I sense not the power of a Lord. The enemy do not have a Lord amongst them yet the Abyss stirs all the same. And to break my barrier at that." Touching one of the falling shards, her lips curved into a curious smile.
"I will not comment on the wretched abominations that guard your doors." She spoke calmly. "A vile pact with the Eclipse or whatever lies beyond is none of my concern. The only thing that stirs my heart within this battle is the method of which they broke my barrier without a Lord.
"So you may drop that haphazard disguise of yours, outsider." She glanced back and pinched her fingers together.
Stars and light crackled into existence around the subordinate as dark energy dismissed his disguise.
"I played along despite knowing that you tried to take advantage of my appearance in this region. But now I find myself lacking a worthy adversary, are you here to take its place?" She questioned.
Voruth'Zal simply adjusted his outfit and smiled.
"I dare not. However, your desired foe has not yet disappeared. Alice, the split haired girl that took down your barrier. You could say her power is. . . transcendent." He played with his cuffs before his smile began to twist.
"She will fulfil your heart's desire. She will be the fire to your wood, the stars for your sky, the whisper to your silence, the ruin to your yearning."
The woman was silent. Her gaze tender and longing for a distant dream.
Holding her hands over her heart, she felt each pulse life carefully.
"If that is to be so, then I will fulfil your desire. Let not a single interruption disturb my utopia and my corpse will be yours for the taking." She closed her eyes in bliss.
"However." Her voice snapped with an icy coldness that sent shivers down Voruth'Zal soul.
"If she is not the one, if she is found wanting, you will pay the price for deception."
The entire world seemed to suddenly shrink around them, folding into a silent sphere devoid of outside connections. No escape, no retreat.
"Of course, you have my word." Voruth'Zal promised with a bow. "If there is anyone in the world that can satisfy this longing in your heart, it is her."
Astrelya, Abyss Lord of Stars.
To gaze upon her was to witness the embodiment of the cosmos. The elegant yet out of reach. Yet to know her, one realises that she is not the aloof being her title suggests.
She is no observer, she is no witness. She did not crave for the truth of fates.
What she is, what she wants, is to be the author of her own tale. Astrelya craved battle like no other. She did not want conquest, not the bloodshed of masses. But a sacred, transcendent moment of two individuals locked in battle.
No distractions, no plots in the dark. She desires the ignition of their two souls as they met in combat.
The intense struggle to live another day, to extinguish the light in the opponent. A struggle so intense that it marked, no, SEARED itself into the memory of the victor. A scar not on the body but on the spirit.
A respect for a strong opponent.
A clash so radiant that it would leave even the stars blinded.
A grand symphony of will.
She had tasted how it felt to end another's life in this clash. She has felt the glory of victory. But now she desired the other half. She desired to experience what it was like to be the fallen in this situation.
She wanted to taste the bitterness of a close defeat after giving everything she's got, knowing that her opponent did the same.
A one sided battle was not what she wanted. She wanted something closer, something raw. An end to a battle where both are left punching with everything they got left, hoping, praying that the next hit would end their opponent. To exterminate what little stamina and adrenaline that kept them on their feet.
THAT was the end that Astrelya desired. A destructive, blinding desire of violence, so very pure yet chaotic.
She wanted to FEEL alive for that moment before death.
And Voruth'Zal knew that well.
With Astrelya now interested in the battle once more, Voruth'Zal took his leave.
###
"Charge!!!" Suyin's command rang across the battlefield as a sky of flames followed her shout.
Lightning crashed down from above, shattering the defensive lines of the enemy. Her soldiers surged forth, tearing through the outer ranks. Jin was pulled back by Alice, he needed time to fully digest this experience.
However, Suyin was fine with that. He already destroyed the biggest road block, all that's left was for her and her soldiers to finish the charge.
*KSSSS!!!
Suyin's machinery hissed as they led the charge.
"Push through! Kill all that stands in your way! You are not doing this for yourself! On your shoulder is the hopes of all those waiting for your safe return! On your shoulder is the hope that the north remains safe! On your shoulders are the lives of your brothers and sisters! Stand firm! Stand tall! Do not falter!"
"""RAHHH!!!!!"""
Her soldiers roared as one, charging forth with renewed vigour.
Each action, each attack, backed up by the adrenaline that shouted through their veins.
Alice had to give an appreciative clap. Despite their grotesque enemies, the soldiers charged with an indomitable spirit.
"Fascinating the human spirit is, don't you agree?" Isolde stood next to Alice with a smile.
However, this manner of speaking, Alice understood that Zal-Ka'Rith took over once more.
"You do realise that every time you take over, Isolde is inching closer and closer to death right? Your existence pollutes her body, even with your so called blessings." Alice gave him a side glance.
"Is that concern I hear for this girl?" Zal-Ka'Rith smiled, raising his arm and watching the flesh tremble.
"Just curiosity on why you keep taking over for the smallest of things despite being an observer." Alice shrugged. "For an observer, you are awfully involved."
"There are times when even an observer feels compelled to ask questions. That artifact of yours. . ." His voice trailed off.
"It's not a natural creation is it? A modification of. . . another being. One that lives. One that grows."
Summoning her artifact above her hand, Alice stared at it in silence.
"It's made by the Zenia family. The material is. . . humans." Alice's gaze was filled with pity for the artifact. "But not just any human, one that hasn't had its soul modified yet. Children that are yet to be born, extracted and transformed into cores."
"Once synchronised with the Hunter, this. . . Artifact, this unborn child, adapts to the powers of the wielder, transforming themselves into something that assists the Hunter. A personal tool." Alice dismissed the artifact and clenched her fist.
"Fascinating. . ." Zal-Ka'Rith muttered, causing Alice to glare at him.
"Ah, allow me to correct myself. I don't find the creation of the weapon fascinating. Rather, the fact that humans are willing to do this to children of their own species, turning them into objects to be exploited. And yet they call us Outer Gods the cancer to their world." He explained with a chuckle.
"Yeah, which is why the Zenia family don't deserve to continue. They need to be wiped out no matter what." Alice turned her gaze away.
Holding his hands behind his back, Zal-Ka'Rith smiled.
"As you know, I work with equivalent exchange. Since you were kind enough to enlighten me with that piece of information, allow me to give you something in exchange."
"Oh? It's not exactly a rare piece of information though. You would've found it out sooner or later." Alice furrowed her brows.
"It's not the details of the information that counts but rather, the implications. An understanding of how low humans can go. Right when I thought I reached the bottom, I feel something knocking from beneath my feet. THAT is what I find fascinating.
"As for something that equals the satisfaction you gave me. . ." His voice trailed of. Contemplating what kind of information he should spill.
Something that has to do with Alice. Something that he knew but Alice didn't.
Pausing for a moment, a smile appeared on his face.
"Shall I tell you. . . how we Outer Gods entered this world?"
