1 Chapter 1: My Daughter
Chapter 1: My Daughter
On a warm summer evening a copious amount of people gathered and packed a dewy yellow-green meadow. Their ages, sizes and appearances varied but they all wore a somber exterior as they surrounded a man and a young girl. The man wore a casual white long sleeved shirt and fitted azure pants while the girl wore pink polka dotted sleepwear.
"Riyo, please!"
Riyo remained silent as he softly cradled his daughter with careful hands. His fingers delicately brushed aside her sweat-matted hair from sticking to her feverish forehead. He glided along the ominous dark purple veins on her skin that stretched from her forehead all the way down to the tip of her toes.
"Stephanie… I…", Riyo responded weakly.
"If there was another way we would take it but we've already tried everything. There is no other way. For the sake of our people, no, for the sake of the world you must do it. You must kill her!", Stephanie implored.
The mob of people standing besides her yelled in agreement, together they form a cautious circle around Riyo and his daughter. Some remained silent and watched with worrisome eyes but many others yelled with extreme urgency. Riyo, however, ignored them all.
"Do you... do you understand what you are asking of me?", Riyo turned to face her, his brown eyes devoid of its normal brilliance, his face pale as snow. "You were there when she was born, when Lily…"
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"Riyo, promise m-", the woman coughed. Her eyebrows furrowed as sweat ceaselessly dripped down her face.
"Please Lily, don't speak. Save your strength", Riyo begged as he held her fragile hand in his.
"No, you must hear me", she spoke slowly with long, deep breaths in between each word. "I can feel my life waning. You know I won't give up until the very last second but if I do not make it, promise me you won't let anything happen to her."
"Lily…"
"Promise me!", Lily demanded with all the strength she could muster as her weak eyes lit up with conviction.
"...I promise."
"Good", she smiled peacefully. "If I see her in the afterlife before you I will rise up and kill you myself."
Riyo, Stephanie, and the people in the room laughed but was cut short as she screamed in pain from another contraction.
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The memory resurfaced in both of their minds.
"I understand, you know I do. Or have you forgotten that I have lost children as well?"
Riyo stared at her with eyes so sorrowful it nearly pierced her soul.
"But you've never had to end their lives with your own two hands."
Stephanie's mouth hung open but no words left her lips; she stood frozen with furrowed eyes and lost eyes. An elderly man stepped up besides Stephanie and placed his hand on her shoulder. She faces him but he shook his head. Lowering her head, she steps aside and he stepped forward.
"Dracsii…I can't", Riyo muttered.
Voices immediately erupted from the mobs.
"Just kill her!"
"Do it!"
"Stand aside let me do it!"
"SILENCE!", Dracsii bellowed. An enormous pulse of mana erupted from his body creating multiple shockwaves. The force from the mana shockwaves pushed numerous people back until only a few remained. Those few stood still with their mouths shut but their faces were a mixture of worry, anger, compassion, and more. Satisfied with the effect, Dracsii faced Riyo with gentle eyes.
"The void virus is something we do not have the luxury of underestimating. The outbreak of those showing typical symptoms are already so catastrophic, there is no telling what terrible epidemic will occur if we allow her to release an outbreak. I understand nothing I say nor do shall make this decision any less difficult for you but I implore you to make the correct one nonetheless. Countless innocent lives, their families lives, will perish if you do not end her life."
"How can I end her life? She's my daughter… your goddaughter."
"And it breaks my heart to see it come to this but the amount of lives at stake is not something we can ignore", Dracsii decided. "But I understand if you are unable to carry out the deed yourself."
Dracsii waved his hands in the air and eleven glowing circles, tightly encased within the other, appeared in the air followed by groups of glowing cryptic characters in the center and in between every circle.
"[Poison Art: Eternal Sleep]", he chanted.
A cloud of foggy magenta particles floated around the palm of his hand as the circles and cryptic characters faded away.
"Let me be the one to carry the burden."
Riyo watched Dracsii inch closer then returned his gaze back to Emica. Her burning temperature had spread throughout her entire body and the dark purple veins darkened, nearly becoming a shade of black. Her face scrunched up in pain as her breathing grew heavier and dangerously less frequent.
"Daddy, why don't I have a mommy?", a young girl asked Riyo.
"Emilia…"
"I'm sorry daddy, should I not have asked?", Emilia apologized after seeing his face.
"No Emi, you did nothing wrong. Your mom… she was really weak when she gave birth to you. Everyone said that in her condition neither one of you were going to live, but she pulled through. She gave it all of her strength and brought you into this world."
He tapped her nose playfully and she giggled.
"I'm sorry you don't have a mom like the rest of the children."
"It's okay daddy, I get it now", she smiled reassuringly, placing her hand on his.
Riyo's chest filled with emotions as he brought her in for a tight hug.
"Daddy you're squeezing me too hard."
"Don't worry Emi, even if your mom isn't here I will make sure you're safe and happy. I'll do my best to be your dad and your mom."
"But you can't be a mommy, daddy. You don't have long hair or boobies."
He put her down on the ground while laughing. She tilted her head in response which only prolonged his laughter.
Riyo was unsure why it was this specific memory that resurfaced but it lightened his heart and decision. His eyes shone with firmness as he turned to meet Dracsii's gaze.
"I'm sorry."
Before anyone around him could fully comprehend his words twelve encased circles with numerous cryptic characters appeared underneath him and Emilia, forming a perimeter with them in the center.
"[Ice Art: Perpetual Glacial Fortress]", he chanted.
-Rumble- -Rumble-
In the blink of an eye gigantic pillars made of ice erected from the circles, forming a spiky dome and separating Riyo and Emica from the crowd. Their voices were muffled and incomprehensible but the anxiety or anger in their face were sufficiently apparent.
All at once the stalemate was broken and multitudes of encased circles appeared from every side. Fire, wind, water, earth, and other elements assaulted the dome of ice but even the most hazardous amongst them only left large dents. Stephanie, Dracsii and a few others stood still unlike the rest and just gazed solemnly at the pair.
Riyo, however, did not meet any their gazes as he kept his eyes, brimming with concentration and determination, on his daughter. His hands released Emica and a bundle of wind quickly gathered around him, preventing her from falling and gently suspending her in midair. He raised a finger and the exquisite ring on it glowed briefly. A sepia parchment appeared in the air and floated onto his outstretched hand.
"I seek an audience", Riyo respectfully requested, then read the single word on the parchment. "Teram."
-Bang-
The paper crumbled into dust, replaced with a luminous explosion, blinding everyone present. As their vision returned they saw a mysterious man standing besides Riyo and Emica. He wore a color-coordinated attire, from his grey wool scarf down to his grey floor-lengthed robe, which brought out his inhuman face.
His skin was a pale shade of blue while his eyes lacked pupils and were entirely grey. His mouth was flat with no lips and the areas for a nose and ears had holes instead. The people prohibited by the dome of ice were unable to react as they were frozen by a seemingly effortless intimidating, yet pious, aura.
"Have you decided?" Teram inquired.
"I have. My daughter, I choose her."
"I remind you her safety is not guaranteed. The virus is not one I possess knowledge of and it is entirely possible it not separate and survive the journey with her. Do you still wish to make this choice?"
"Thank you for your kind reminder but my choice remains the same."
Teram sighed and shook his head.
"So be it."
He lifted his arm and held his palm out.
-Woosh-
A petite hole materialized out of thin air then instantly grew into the size of an upright bear. Inside the circle a variety of grey lights danced around, swirling and crossing in an unpredictable manner.
"The spatial rift will close briefly so any parting words should be brief."
As soon as he spoke the last word he disappeared, his body and aura gone as if he never existed. Riyo extended his arms as the wind suspending Emilia slowly dissipated then he knelt down and caught her with his arms. Supporting her with his knees, he freed his hands and removed a string necklace from around his neck. A baroque wooden oval was the only accessory on the otherwise simple necklace.
"Lily", Riyo spoke tenderly while clasping the wooden end of the necklace. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more for our little Emi. I know you would've killed me for sending her off on her own but I've tried everything and this the only option left."
He carefully looped the necklace around her neck and gently laid the wooden oval on her chest. The spatial rift fluctuated and noticeably began to shrink in size.
"If she survives…", he hurried. "No, when she survives! I will find her, I swear to it. Until then be with her and keep her safe."
Without another word he tossed her into the spatial rift.
-BOOM-
The moment her body touched the spatial rift an explosion tore the air apart, shattering the glacial fortress in the process. Ice, water and wind instantly gathered in front of Riyo as he instinctively defended himself and the rest of the blast was mitigated by the shattered glacial fortress, protecting the people outside it.
Everyone uncontrollably broke out in cold sweat as they laid eyes on the core of the explosion. Emilia and the spatial rift were now gone but an ominous dark purple, human-sized, sphere levitated in their place. The dark purple sphere fluidly expanded and contracted like self-molding clay.
An eerie stillness consumed the surroundings. Finally several individuals, including Dracii and Stephanie, thrusted their hands in the air and cried out.
"[Fire Art-"
"[Wind Art-"
"[Fire Art-"
"[Earth Art-"
-BOOM-
Halfway into their cries and semi-formed circles in the air, the dark purple sphere exploded with a greater fierceness than before. Riyo instinctive defense appeared once again but the explosion knocked him off his feet and sent him hurling back.
