444 [83.7] The Misunderstanding of a Millennium
[Author's note: This part of the chapter is back to Reika's perspective.]
"MAMA!"
I jumped from my bed at the sound of Zephyr's panicked voice and rushed into the courtyard, "What!? What is it?!"
"MONI AND ALORA ARE FIGHTING!"
"What?!" Just as I looked up at the sky, I could see my barrier. Cracks were scattered throughout it, revealing how fragile it was becoming.
My heart dropped.
It's about to break.
Then that means…
Today's the day.
"Zephyr!" I shouted, "Stay here!"
I sprinted off in the direction of the fighting, summoning my ice chunk because they were so far away. I arrived just as I watched a sword plunge into Asmonious.
I felt something shatter inside my chest.
"NOOO!" I rushed to his side and held him as he held the wound with a trembling face.
Alora's body trembled as her eyes contracted, "I… I thought he would… I didn't think…"
The swords above her head started humming, shaking with a fierce uncontrollable power.
Asmonious grabbed my hands as I checked him over, "Master… Please… Let her have this."
"What are you talking about!?" I looked at him in confused shock, "Are you trying to die or something!?"
My heart stopped beating as I watched his flawless smile slowly turn to one of fear. His eyes shrunk and his skin turned deathly pale. He was trembling just as he had the day I found him.
It wasn't the fear of death.
My voice cracked, "Asmonious… Please… Please don't tell me you want to die. Please, if I did something wrong, tell me so I can fix it!"
His eyes watered as he broke down under my stare, "Master, I-"
"Alora?" Zephyr appeared on the mountain and saw Alora, her eyes distraught as her hair wiped madly with the wind. He then looked at Asmonious and saw the wound made from a holy weapon. He turned his innocent red eyes back to her, "What did you do?"
Before Alora could cry out, her holy swords exploded.
I felt time slow and quickly constructed a barrier around each sword, making sure that the blast would be contained with minimal damage.
A searing pain spread across my stomach as an otherworldly sense told me to look back.
As my head turned, I watched a Holy Sword already flying towards me. In the distance, I could see the smirk of Vira who had been waiting in the shadows, bidding her time until this exact moment.
She's trying to kill me!?
The sword isn't flying towards me!!!
It's flying towards-
In the blink of an eye, everything froze.
But as quickly as it did, it resumed as if nothing happened.
"M-Master?"
My eyes were stuck on Asmonious who was staring at me in horror and shock.
It was an expression I had never seen on his face before.
Why… Why are you making that face?
Zephyr's ruby-red eyes stared up at me, his innocence and confusion reflected back, "Mama?"
A sword passed through my abdomen, and if not for grabbing the hilt at the right moment, it would have passed straight through my body and into his.
I didn't care about the sword that was stuck inside of me nor did I look at the blood pouring out.
My eyes were stuck on his, burning every detail into memory.
I tried to open my mouth to answer him, but blood poured out instead.
I collapsed to my knees, feeling as if I would fall over at any moment.
"NOOOOO!" Asmonious's gutteral cries cut through the mountain, "MASTER!"
Zephyr crawled to my side, almost as if he was afraid to touch me. As my consciousness started to fade, I could hear his pitiful voice, "Why… Why did Alora-"
Alora cried out, "I-I didn't mean to!"
"YOU! YOU DID THIS!!!!" Asmonious turned his vibrant orange eyes, once filled with compassion and affection, now filled with hate and fury, "YOU KILLED HER!"
My body trembled as I tried to speak up on her behalf, but the blood rushed back up my throat, choking me.
Zephyr turned his tearful eyes to her, "Alora… What did you do?"
She took a step back, shaking her head as her eyes trembled, "I… I…"
No-
It was Vira-
"I CURSE YOU!" Asmonious screamed at the top of his lungs, "I CURSE YOU AND YOUR DESCENDENTS TO SUFFER UNTIL YOUR BLOODLINE RUNS OUT!"
I tried to shake my head to stop him-
A bolt of black lightning struck the ground, slamming into Alora who let out a startled cry. I could feel Zephyr's claws digging into me as the sky turned black and lightning hit everything around me. As it started to die down, I watched Orphelio and Vira emerge from the shadows.
Their swords were drawn, preparing to slaughter.
If I don't do something soon then-
I pulled out the Holy Sword, preventing it from depleting any more of my mana, and tossed it aside. My wound gushed with blood, but I was no longer the same girl who would faint at the sight of blood.
I pushed Zephyr away from me with a surge of snow, watching as he vanished down the mountainside, his expression of confusion and pain burning into my memory. Uncontrollable mana surged from my body, triggering a blizzard as I struggled to harness its power. I somehow managed to use the avalanche to carry Alora, Atta, Lene, Rose, and Astra off the mountain to safety.
My knees buckled from the strain and my body felt heavier from the injury's backlash. Each breath became harder as the weight of my impending fate permeated my mind.
No matter how exhausted I felt, I still forced myself to crawl to Asmonious. He lay unconscious under a blanket of snow, his life slipping away from both the holy wound and the creation of a menacing curse.
As I crawled, I could see a fire raging in my periphery despite my body being so cold. I choked on smoke but ignored the undeniable pain.
I have…
To protect…
Him…
Finally reaching his body, I grabbed onto him, gritting my teeth as mana poured from my hand and into his.
Tears spilled from my eyes as I watched his skin turn greyer and greyer.
The storm became oddly silent as his blood combined with mine.
"I may not be able to change the future-" My hand gripped his tighter as my body grew colder, "-But I can save you."
Even though I know what he becomes…
Even though I know his curse went on to torture several generations…
Even though he wanted to corrupt me and kill Cyrus…
Even though he killed so many people…
Even though he hurt so many that I loved…
In the end-
My face cracked a smile as I reached out to push back his hair from his grey face, "You're still my child…"
So please live on…
And please…
Find happiness.
Orphelio stepped towards us, laughing maniacally with pure elation in his eyes, "Don't worry, don't worry! I would never allow my darling pup to die. Rest assured, I will take care of him as a father should."
After my mana successfully managed to stop his wound from spreading and becoming fatal, I already knew the only possible outcome.
But…
I'm not scared.
I took a deep breath as my hand lay on his head, "Asmonious, be a good boy when you meet me. Don't search for vengeance. Don't fight with your siblings… Be the same compassionate boy you were always like with me."
A black hole suddenly opened up and I pushed him into it without hesitation.
"I'm sorry I didn't see the signs." As he disappeared into the darkness, tears rushed down my cheeks, "I'm sorry I wasn't a better mother."
"NOOOO!" Orphelio sprinted over, arriving just as the hole closed up. He screamed as he started digging into the frozen ground, "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"
He turned to me and kicked me back forcibly. I was too weak to protect myself and met his kick without any protection. I rolled across the ground, coming to rest on my back.
Ah…
It hurts…
"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU! I AM GOING TO CUT OFF ALL YOUR LIMBS AND FEED THEM TO YOU!" He thrust a sword into my face, "WHERE DID YOU SEND HIM?!"
I snickered as I met his fearsome gaze, "That's the thing about a chaos user- I can't control it. Maybe he's in the past, maybe he's in the future. Either way, he's not here anymore."
"Y-YOU B*TCH!"
I laughed hysterically as I saw the fury come across that handsome face of his, "You'll never have him."
I tightened my fist, forcing the remaining part of my life to create a barrier. It threw him and Vira off the mountain, the avalanche of snow and ice getting stronger and stronger until the once lush mountain was now suffocated by endless snow.
I could feel my veins bursting as a backlash traveled across my body.
As my breath slowed, snow and ice covered my body as the fire inside me died down. My vision grew hazy as I focused my remaining energy that was soon depleted.
Ah…
So that's why I was always drawn to the snow capped mountains…
The cold and snow never affected me because the mana was my own….
That would mean that-
A snowflake fluttered through the sky, landing on my cheek.
…I visited my own gravesite that day.
My lips curved up painfully.
At least…
At least my children are safe.
As my vision started to darken, the strong scent of flowers hit my nose.
A warmth spread across my abdomen as my body sunk into a dark, vast hole below me.
