A dream?

Light. His eyes fluttered open to a graceful glow. 

The grand hall was basked in a golden shine. Even though the throne room's floor was stained with blood, even though the room was absent of anything luxurious, Perses was simply grateful to see once more. 

Perses took a moment to collect his thoughts. A light tear seemingly dripped down his cheek. He embraced this sensation as he raised a hand, looking at it, fascinated. Though the jingle of chains remained, his mood did not falter as the pain was no longer. After accepting this, a strange sensation took hold of Perses. 

The tears persisted. Only then did he recall those nostalgic tears. For a second time, that sensation had saved Perses. Before falling unconscious, the girl had entered his mind, sharing his burden alongside him. He had been able to rest thanks to her, free, thanks to her.

'Thank you.'

His words were not reciprocated, but he was not fooled wherever she was inside his head. He knew she was quietly listening. He could feel her thoughts, and she could feel his. It seemed something had changed within them, permitting this sensation.

'So you shared my pain, but how did you remove the stones? Don't tell me you can control my body now. No, if that was the case, then these chains would be broken.'

Only then did Perses discover the obvious. A light humming emanated from in front of Perses. This soothing, melodic tune led Perse's eyes to a confusing source as he looked up with fearful eyes. 

A knight sat delicately on a pile of rubble in front of him. Her thick black onyx armour shone in the grand light of the hall. Though her initial impression was fearsome, mighty even, her soft feminine posture created a serene, welcoming image. Quietly, he raised his shaky voice.

"Um greetings. Might you be my benefactor?"

Perses shuddered. He regretted speaking his mind for even a moment. The sharp pain that had etched itself into his brain was at the forefront of his mind as irrational and rational fear apprehended his thoughts. Quietly, he shivered.

"Nostalgic."

A brief stoic response was all Perses received from the elegant knightly figure. A calm silence enveloped the room as she shared a sympathetic gaze. 

"Humble, kind, considerate. This is exactly what I expected, but that fear not so much."

Perses shifted uncomfortably as he backed up into the wall ever so slightly.

"Do you, perhaps, know me?"

"No, but I better not continue. It's not for me to say. Anyhow that knowledge could cause you further harm, which I'd hate to see."

Perses tilted his head, confused, causing the knight to let out a warm chuckle for whatever reason. 

"Um, please allow me to thank you. Did you remove them from me? The stones, correct?"

The knight nodded her head nonchalantly. Whilst Perses looked grateful, his anxiety remained potent.

"Again, thank you, but was that really wise, the king himself did that to me. I'd hate to see my benefactor suffer in my place."

This startled the knight as she swung her legs into a stricter, straighter posture. At the same time, she playfully rested her head on her hands as she leered at Perses."

"Never mind, your totally different!"

Her response caused Perses to give a wry smile. Her speech felt so wholly removed from her dangerous appearance that it was almost comical.

"I guess you Blessed are all different in your own ways then. After all, she'd never say something like that. She's far too stupid. Hahahaha"

Letting out a heartfelt laugh, Perses was utterly behind on the joke as he desperately tried to keep up with the woman. 

"Who?, no nevermind. Though, of course, my benefactor can call me what she likes. My name is Perses, just so you know.

"Sure, Perses, anyway, I'm probably obligated to remind you not to break those chains. Those... extreme measures taken before were simply no longer necessary. You are not yet free, and I am not your saviour. Sorry, that's someone else's duty, not mine. I'm also fully aware you could break those mundane things if you wished, but neither of us would like how that ends."

Perses was further thankful that the woman had caught him up to speed.

Beginning to feel at ease in the woman's presence, Perses asked, "Then, would my benefactor be comfortable telling me her name."

"Of course. My name is Helena. Leader of the Emperor's private guard, I have all kinds of titles, but my friends call me Hell."

Perses stared with tight lips at the woman. He had no idea if that was a joke or not, so instead, he stared at her with tense caution.

"Anyway, Perses, as a special privilege, feel free to call me what you'd like. As long as it's not my benefactor, it's weird. Not to mention, you mostly healed yourself. It was quite remarkable to see, though the eyes needed some extra help. But anyways, I could always kill you if I needed to, so the nasty old bastards had no reason to complain. Besides, it's not like I wanted to stare at your, condition all day." 

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she indirectly threatened to kill him, making Perses raise his guard again.

"I, I see, so is there anything else I need to know or?"

The knight crossed her legs once again and put a thoughtful hand on her helmet. 

"Nah."

A disinterested shrug followed her blunt response. Perses got a strange sensation that she had rolled her eyes at him from behind her helmet.

"You're boring me, so let's talk about swords or something. We might be here for hours, after all. So tell me, what kind do you like? What level are you? Oh, and who have you ever fought anyone before? We could try now if you'd like.

Perse's expression tightened as he listened to the woman's rising volume with mild perplexion. 

"Uh, right. Well, I suppose I had a friend that I sparred with once."

"Ah, let me guess, a friend no longer. It's not that surprising, really. At least the other blessed had me to spar with, but it's impossible for you to lose against a human.

"I suppose, but I did actually lose."

"Huh. Wait, isn't that really embarrassing."

Perse's eyes tightened as he stared at the nonchalant woman with puzzlement. 

'Is she mocking me on purpose? No, she seems too kind for that.'

"And I mean, like, really realllllly embarrassing. I can't believe you'd say something like that so honestl-pffffttttt."

Unable to withhold her laughter, she clutched her helmet and leaned back with a cruel giggle. As Perse's face began to scrunch at her reaction, he heard another ring of mocking laughter. 

'HA'

The shy devil girl who had taken refuge inside of Perses revealed herself through a distracting loud outburst of laughter. The two girls he had been so grateful towards just a moment ago were now pleasantly laughing at his expense.

"Hah, hah. Anyway, what was their name? I have a feeling I'll know them, too. If they beat you, that is."

Getting over his rare annoyance, he tilted his head, surprised by Helena's declaration. 

"His name's Mars."

"Yep"

There was nothing sudden or drastic about the change in atmosphere. However, Helena's voice did soften, and her response, whilst jovial, was abrupt and brief. 

"Well, you met my boy."

With what sounded like a melancholic smile, Helena reflectively caressed the sword that lay in its hilt, breaking eye contact with Perses. Noticing she was having a moment, Perses listened and observed despite his own shock. 

"Hah... Really, what have I been doing all this time? Is he strong? My boy, I mean? In fact, don't answer. I already know."

Talking to herself, she now rested her hands by her sides as she looked up vulnerably to the ceiling accompanied by the sun's light. It was a subtle detail, yet Perses had picked up on it nonetheless. This was the first time she had let her guard down against him.

As if waking from a stupor, she looked back towards Perses, grinning. 

"So you must have met Lugh too, my condolences. Hahaha"

Perses, despite his fear, failed to hold back a frown as he struggled to reciprocate Helena's positivity nor her laughter. 

"Oh, was it that bad? Yeah, now that I think about it, I bet it was hard for both of you. The Lugh I know, or I should say used to, was probably quite different. Don't get me wrong, he was always a vulgar asshole. You know what he said to me when we first met?"

Dismissive of Perse's reaction entirely, she continued to reminisce and ramble to the patient Perses. 

"Get this, his first words were, 'Hey woman, I heard you were real strong. Let's say I beat you all fair and square. I can have my way with you.'"

With a humourous, scarily accurate portrayal of Lugh, she fondly recited their meeting. Perses expectations continue to be defied and trampled on.

"Of course, I beat the shit out of him easily, but once I was on top of him, he apologized. A tall order for egomaniacs like him, but as I said, he was different back then, more honourable. Okay, maybe, no, definitely that's the wrong word, but the rest of that story isn't for kids like you."

Helena's posture was uncharacteristically laid back. It was as if years' worth of feelings had poured out of her as she contently monologued to the awkward Perses.

"Anyway-"

Footsteps. 

The jovial, drawn-out conversation between the two was over. Interrupted by the sound of slow rhythmic footsteps that progressed towards the two, anticipation invaded the gentle atmosphere. 

Turning to face the dark, long passage, the footsteps approached. Helena didn't bother to reach for her sword, but one glance was enough for Perses to acknowledge her guard was back up. Ignorant to the anxiety of the duo, the steps progressed closer and closer. 

"Perses" 

Soon, a soft smile revealed itself from the shadowy passage. Black hair that blended with his surroundings followed suit. Adorned in long, simple black garments, a youth stepped into view. With a kind smile, he ignored the presence of Helena and approached Perse's captive state methodically.

"Sorry, I'm late." 

With a sorrowful tone, Machia crouched towards Perses. He reached out a hand that he gently placed onto Perse's shoulder reassuringly. 

"Chink"

All around him, the chains fell unexplainably. With a pleased, caring grin, Machia asked Perses. 

"Well, did you miss me?"