Ghaleon's citadel was much
too grandiloquent... what egotism, one of many human weaknesses.
I made to enter the large hole at the base and felt the prickle
of an invisible barrier.
Weakness. Very well, why
waste time working my way up?
No more than a grunt and
the slight barrier vanished. Was this the sum of Ghaleon's power?
If so, it would take no effort on the Dragonmaster's part to
dispatch the pathetic magic user. I could not comprehend how
Althena had let such a speck of existence capture her let alone
hold her against her will. A game perhaps? Althena had never been
one to play with the humans... much.
With a single thought I
ascended up the side of the Grindery... Ehm? What is this filth?
A garden of full of Fae? Disgusting insects!
"Yasuo? Is that you!
Please help Ghaleon! A group of people have come to kill
him!"
The nerve of this revolting
thing speaking to me!
"Where have I
met... oh yes, Zura is it not?"
The vile thing giggled.
"Yes! I am so happy you remember me! I knew that you were
the chosen one!"
Yet another living thing on
this planet that takes yet never gives anything in return.
"Correct you are
Zura. I have made many sacrifices on my crusade thus far. Will
you not help me?"
"Oh Yasuo! I would do
anything to make you or Ghaleon happy! He has been so kind to my
people as have you! We are all willing to make any sacrifices in
order to help Lunar!"
"As you wish."
I must say I was becoming far too delighted in ridding Lunar of
this pestilence, of the needless creatures sucking the life from
this world.
I watched in pure enjoyment
as the faerie before me fell to the ground in uncontrollable
spasms of pain before she choked on her last breath. One by one
each of the other faeries fell to the same fate...
Emph?! My head! What is
this pain? I willed the pain away and it was gone. I had become
far too distracted with this merriment. How fortunate for the few
fae still alive.
My visit to Ghaleon had
been long overdue. It was time to see this Magic Emperor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It seemed that the battle
had moved to the Goddess Tower ...
"... p-please... h-elp
me... "
Royce. My hatred for her
ran deep, the conniving little witch. I hovered over the broken,
mangled, bag of flesh.
"... G-ghaleon is...
.h-help us... "
"Gladly."
I would be disappointed in Ghaleon no doubt, but to finally
destroy this shattered thing that had no right to see Lunar's
grace... How I reveled in this moment!
With a wheezing choke
Royce's bloody body rose before me, her eyes widened in
delectable terror!
My gaze slide from her
stricken face to the darkening sky outside and I did smile then,
my lips curling in horrific glee.
"... p-please...
n-no... "
"Do not fret
Royce," My voice echoed in her mind as she appeared in the
sky hundreds of miles from the ground, as I drained every last
ounce of magic power from her."What does it feel like to
know that you are about to die and are powerless to stop it from
happening? What does it feel like to know those that are
important to you are about to die an inhumane death one hundred
times worse than your own?"
"I-I am s-sorry...
G-Ghaleon... "
"Ghaleon will not
help you now foul human! He could not even if he wanted to...
fear not little insignificant Royce. You will not die..."
How she added to this
pleasure spreading throughout my soul!
"No, you will not
die until you hit the ground."
What rapture given to me as
my words snatched the relief, the hope, from her eyes as her body
fell from my sight, her blood curdling scream like a beautifully
read sonnet to my ears...
I turned then to continue
my trek to the top... I was not taken aback at the sight of
Ghaleon's body lying crumpled on the floor as I entered the
chamber.
"Seems the
Dragonmaster was more than prepared to deal with,
Ghaleon."
He coughed up blood and
turned to used the throne behind him to stand. "My my, what
took the all powerful
being so long to show?"
"You have quite a
lot of nerve for something that is about to die."
His frail skeleton could barely hold him together.
"Do you not want
answers Yasuo ?" He
sank into the chair behind him with a sigh.
"Yasuo?"
"You do know that is
who you are do you not?"
Was this some sort of
mindgame? Yasuo? Of course I am not... I am... .
"Confused? Maybe you
would like to be enlightened?"
I could care less for this
elf's demeanor, as egotistical as I had suspected. However, my
interest had been piqued. "Continue."
"You do want to know
what has become of your darling
Portia I am quite sure. After all, why else have you come all
this way? To kill me? I think not."
Portia! That name... it
sounded so familiar... where had I heard it? "I
would not presume to know what my intentions are concerning you.
You have until I bore of your little game before I smear you from
existence."
Ghaleon looked entirely
unmoved by my words. It was no matter... till the golden haired
beast girl appeared before me...
I am not...
"Yasuo?" said the
girl before me, her eyes looking fearlessly into mine.
I am not...
"Yasuo?" She
repeated with the same look in her searching eyes.
My vision began to blur;
the temperature in the room began to rise. The ache in my head
resurfaced. This time however I could not push it aside, it took
assault of all my senses! What... what was happening to me?
"La Habiba."
Kakari. My love. That is why she was so familiar. I did not know
who this Portia was that Ghaleon spoke of... but how could this
be? Kakari died five years ago! "How is
this possible?"
"That is not your
Kakari, Athen. "
Ghaleon stated with an all too smug tone of voice. In that moment
I did not know what to think anymore. Names floated around in a
mist of confusion in my mind. I looked at the girl standing
before me again she was familiar yet she was not.
"My how confused you
look Athen. But now is not the time for reunions. We need one
another, a trade if you will. You give me your power in exchange
for your life, we all win."
"No, I win."
Before I could lift my hand I fell to the ground in a strange yet
distinctly familiar agonizing pain. I could hear Ghaleon's
laughter echoing throughout the chamber.
"Stop this! You're
killing him!"
That voice! It was she! I
could no longer hear for the pain pounded in my ears so loudly!
"Well well, Kirei,
you've finally decided to join our little gathering. Now
Portia," Ghaleon began as he looked to Portia. "Kill
him." "NO!" The human who Ghaleon had called Kirei
rushed at the golden haired girl, but was instantly repelled by a
wave of electrical magic that sent her flying with enough force
into the wall across the room that I heard the cracking of bone
and smashing cartilage.
A light flashed in the
golden haired girl's eyes changing them from a dull purple to
blood red as a rapier appeared in her hands. I looked up from
kneeling position, one hand flat on the floor, the other
clutching my chest.
"La Habiba,
please... No!" I was barely conscious,
the girl again looked so much like my darling Kakari, yet so
different.
"How does it feel
Yasuo? I know you are still inside, you are seeing what your true
love is about to do and you are as helpless
as a newborn babe! Plead all you like! You can die knowing that
Portia has long since been dead! What you see before you is a
puppet, a shell of the girl you once knew!"
"NOOOOOOO!!!"
My cry was not only from the pain of the rapier piercing my back,
nor was it just for myself, but it was for Portia. In that
moment, I knew who I was. I was Yasuo. Student of Vane helplessly
in love with my classmate Portia ever since the first time I had
laid eyes on her. I was the Yasuo that would rescue Portia from
those that would harm her in any way. My voice was Lunar's voice
and it cried with me in that instant.
I saw each shared moment
with her... Portia... My love, my life, my soul, my everything.
She smiled evilly as she
thrust the blade deeper.
I could feel the sickness I
had become so accustomed leave, flow from my body with the blood
that pooled around me. I still knew not what it was, but I knew
it was gone. How ironic that I was finally free of the curse and
I had found Portia, yet she stood over me watching my life drain
away. No tears, no words... nothingness. By Althena, how that
ripped my heart from my chest like nothing else could... not even
my imminent death, the searing blade taking my life could ever
compare.
"Enough dramatics my
dear, you've been more than useful." A loud crack followed
Ghaleon's voice as Portia's lifeless body fell to the floor aside
me. I could only stare in pure horror, a pain that somehow went
far beyond that look of nothingness she had cast upon me! I
choked on the blood filling my throat and lung as I looked up at
Ghaleon who gazed back with a look of triumph and contempt
breathing heavily as well. "How does it feel to be
human?" Then he was gone...
Human? Was I not human
before? My form now remained monsterous, yet I did feel
different... due to death's whispers no doubt.
All that did not matter
now. Nothing mattered any longer. I only hoped that where ever my
soul was headed after I died that I would be with my Portia. I
laid down then, my arms no longer strong enough to sustain my
weight.
"Yasuo!"
Kirei... what was her role
in all of this? Had she come hoping to twist the blade even more?
She would be sorely disappointed if she expected a fight.
"No! Oh Goddess! No,
Yasuo!" By Althena she HAD come to twist the blade... no the
pain was gone now... it mattered not what she did...
"Yasuo!" I distantly heard the sound of the rapier
dropping to the ground beside me as she pulled me onto her lap
cradling me in her arms, whispering chants that I could not
understand before she spoke to me once more. "I love you! I
love you so much! Stay with me! I couldn't stand life without
you! Please my love stay with me, I need you!"
I coughed weakly.
"P-Portia?" Goddess... it was her. Her eyes... those
beautiful orchid eyes... By Althena why? Why now? Don't take her
from me again... "I-I love you Portia... I-I wish that I
could have p-protected you... saved... you."
"You did, my love, you
did! All this time, your love, our
love protected me! Don't die, oh please goddess! I've waited so
long, s-so long! We're going back to Vane and eat Aunt Juu's
sweets, you y-you want to go don't you?"
"I shall go w-where...
ever y-you wish... as long ..as y-you are... by... my side...
k-kitty... kat..." The rhythmic rocking was so calming... to
hear her voice again, to smell that sweet scent that is Portia.
To be so close to her, in her arms, to love her for eternity...
That is all I ever wanted...
§ Chapter 18 § Tear Main § Chapter 20 §
