Alone No More

In the silent void of space, a beam of light tore through it leaving behind fissures as if reality had been torn like a piece of paper.

After a period of time, the beam of light reached a gigantic planet that dwarfed the 18 stars that orbited it. From the beam of light, Lain stepped out; she peered at the planet below before flying down towards it's surface.

The surface of the planet was divided into several continents which were further separated by an endless rocky plain that was several thousand meters lower, possibly the remnants of vast sea that had dried up countless years in the past leaving nothing but the boundaries that contained it.

The 18 stars that filled the sky made sure that at least one side of the giant planet was properly lit up with sunlight, their myriad of lights shining on the desolate arid landscape. The climate was hot to an almost unbearable degree as it felt like one cracked open an egg, it would begin cooking on the stones below.

On one of the continents there was a massive ancient temple complex that stretched for millions of miles, within the temple, there was a wide road made of perfectly sized blocks of white stone the size of sky scrapers which led directly to it's center.

From the brightly clouded sky, Lain came and gracefully landed on the road.

Lain had a slight blush on her bronze cheeks as she looked around at the familiar surroundings with melancholy in her eyes, surrounding the road were various Gothic stone buildings that were seeped in the aura of ancientness. Time had worn away their once impeccable architecture leaving various cracks and tears on them.

On the road and off there were billions of skeletal corpses all kneeling in worship towards the center of the temple complex, to what looked like colossal statue taller than anything nature could create.

The blush on Lain's face slowly faded away as she looked at the surrounding skeletons with a hint of sadness in her eyes. She breathed a faint sigh before walking towards the center of the temple, to the giant monument that towered into the distant clouds.

No matter how long she walked there was no sign of vegetation or plants, only sand and stone. It was as if the world itself was dead.

Carefully maneuvering through the endless sea of skeletons, she finally reached the base of the statue. It was a statue of Lain herself, sitting on a throne with a ornamental scepter in her hands. Her body covered in a robe that had been carved to perfection making it life-like.

At the feet of Lain's statue whose toes were as tall as mountains, there was a large platform and on it there was 3 thrones. The middle tallest throne was empty, the other two which bordered it's sides had two skeletons sitting in them.

Lain looked at the two skeletons with moist eyes as she quietly whispered. "I'm home."

She walked up the old steps of the platform and reached the center throne. After patting her clothes, she sat on the empty throne, a desolate wind blew past brushing slightly against her hair.

The moment she sat, her body slightly shook. The throne was extremely comfortable, made perfectly to suit her body alone. As Lain ran her fingers along the dusty armrest, she closed her eyes as she recalled old memories of a distant past.

Beside her, the two skeletons were still alive, one a beautiful woman with long black hair and the other a handsome man in his middle ages, his chestnut hair having streaks of white.

The endless sea of bones before her were now countless people all seemingly worshiping her. Days passed on end, neither those worshiping her nor the two beside her ever moving from their places, not to even eat or drink. It seemed as if they all lived in some limbo, never changing or aging.

Lain opened her eyes again as the memory faded, she looked at the two skeletons who sat beside her, one which was donned in a majestic red robe fit only for the greatest of kings, the other wore a breathtaking green dress inlaid with purple flowers. On top of their heads there laid a golden crown, signifying their high status.

"Father, Mother, I'm back," Lain said faintly like a whisper with a tinge of guilt. "Sorry for not visiting in such a long time.."

Lain looked at the ground sadly as she could almost hear the worried remarks from her mother and the gentle scolding of her father, yet only silence replied to her.

"You don't have to worry, I'm not alone anymore." Her lips curved into a smile.

Lain rested her head on her hand and said with narrowed eyes. "She's a naughty one, daring to play me like that.."

She looked at her finger as her eyes became misty with a certain yearning. As her thoughts wandered, she recalled the encounter with Ariel which made her cheeks to redden once again.

"That little minx.. i'll definitely teach her a good lesson." Lain muttered as she licked her lips, desire for domination burning in her eyes.

She began to imagine Ariel pleading for mercy at her feet which caused her heartbeat to quicken. Never in her entire life had she been taken advantage of as she was an all powerful being at the top of existence but now someone had, a fact that caused her to feel humiliation and something else...expectation.

After a few more fanciful thoughts, she shook her head and snorted softly.

[I wonder what she's doing right now?] Lain thought curiously as she lifted her finger beckoning a response which caused space to ripple in front of her. From the spatial ripple, a large grey mirror appeared.

The mirror shimmered before showing a picture of the deep blackness of space with only the distant stars for light. Within the void Ariel floated majestically, her peerlessly beautiful form weaving to and forth as she waved her hands.

From the delicate tips of her fingers, light sprouted forth which created gigantic blocks of stones which melded into each other forming a towering pillar. Surrounding Ariel, there were several hundred pillars already built.

"What could my little bird be building I wonder?" Lain muttered as she observed with interest, though the moment she spoke, Ariel stopped and turned around towards Lain with a cheeky smile.

"I'm building a home my love." Ariel's voice echoed in Lain's mind causing her to flinch.

Lain blushed in shame as if she had been caught stealing a cookie. She harrumphed loudly as she instantly cut the connection and slapped the mirror which exploded into dust.

"Still angry? Hehe, I'll leave you to your thoughts. Don't be too long though, you don't want to miss the birth of your children." Ariel's heavenly voice faded away from Lain's mind.

Lain face-palmed as she remembered that Ariel was now one of the seven, spying on her without her knowledge was no longer possible. Looking on at others lives had become quite the habit for Lain and she was used to their ignorance on her peeping, now however she had been caught red-handed which was a completely new experience for her.

Lain muttered. "Silly me, though I do enjoy these new surprises..," She looked towards her skeletal parents.

"See Father? See Mother? She's the one who will keep me company in the future." She said expectantly with an enchantingly bright smile.