Here's to Never-Ending Indulgence; A The Asterisk War Fanfiction

Flowers littered Dirk Eberwein's office floor.

It was an unusual sight, as the room was held deep in Le Wolfe Black Institute's building. There were no windows nor decorations, no vase where the petals could have possibly fallen from. It was empty, but not unfurnished. In front of the student council president's imposing desk were a set of couches, facing each other so a visitor would have to turn their head to the side in order to speak to the president, and in between them was a low-set table. All those things were lavish and elegant, more fit for a diplomat than the president of a student council.

And, in the dim light of the hologram screens set in front of Dirk, sat an intruder. The reason for the flowers and the sweet scent that lingered in the air. It was tall even when sitting down, one leg crossed over another, hands linked together over its knees. There was another pair of arms, those ones leisurely crossed in front of an ample chest. More petals fell as it angled its head towards Dirk, and, when it finally spoke, the air in the room went cold.

"Why, you don't seem to believe me, Eberwein."

In a grand gesture, it got up, towering over everything in the room and standing at an easy estimate of two and a half metres. Its 'hair' floated around it as it walked, moving as if by its own will. Brushing a strand out of its face left falling blossoms to litter the ground.

Dirk clicked his tongue.

"Who'd be stupid enough to believe something like that?"

A pair of hands grasped in front of it, it approached the desk. Although its smile did not falter, (stretching slightly too wide over the face of a young woman, nearly every feature cast in shadow with only bright teeth and pearlescent, empty eyes cutting through the darkness.) the creature did sigh.

"Nehfiyes, I swear. I do not see…"

Free fingers caught a petal right before it landed in Dirk's rusty hair. Bringing it up to its face, it blew the flower away in a gust of frozen wind, then grinned brightly.

"...what I can do to gain your trust." It mused, empty eyes searching his face.

Dirk's frown deepened, sharp, maroon eyes narrowing as it leaned against the table, bringing their faces close together. Each brush of blooms and leaves across his skin left behind a chill, the air around the creature feeling ten degrees colder. It searched his gaze before cocking its head to the side.

"Is it power? Is that what you want proof of?"

Not waiting for him to answer, it took a glance around the room, then continued.

"How about we bring your little pets into this?"

True silence fell, yet Dirk did not flinch at the provocation. His glare sharpened.

"I don't know what you mean."

It waved a hand in the air, unbothered by the denial.

"I'm sure you don't. But there is nothing they could do, not against me."

It backed off, head raised high. The chill in the air worsened. Pale eyes gazed down at him; a hand pressed against its chest as it spoke.

"I am more than you could ever imagine."

The smugness in its tone irked Dirk. However, there was not much he could do. Even if it were a normal Strega, drunk on power and full of illusions of grandeur, believing itself a higher being, it had somehow slipped past the protections and guards put around the office, not even the Grimalkin had seen it coming. It pranced about the room as if it owned the place, perhaps even the entirety of Le Wolfe, and was more than eager to show off what seemed to be only a fraction of its power, if the way it used them without care was any indication. If pushed, then maybe it would not bat an eye at the idea of killing the student council president. Although, it seemed quite keen to get Dirk on its side, for some unknown reason.

At the sight of his glower, the being did nothing but laugh.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You have my word that I will not hurt any of them. I want to get on your good side, after all."

A hand had rose to cup one of his cheeks, gentle despite the intense cold of its palm, as was the look in its eyes. Dirk gave no second thought to slapping the offending appendage away.

"There's no way a deal like that would only benefit me. What the hell do you want?"

There was a pause, then, somehow, its grin widened. It grew to a point it seemed like the edges of its mouth disappeared into the sides of its face, so large it cut its head in half. The scent of hyacinths grew worse, filling the room until it was almost nauseating, as more flowers bloomed around its head. It twirled in place, arms spread wide, then halted on the spot, pleased with its theatrics. When it spoke once more, there was elation in its voice, excitement at the mere thought of what it had proposed.

"I want blood! I want drama! I want for this place to become my own, personal show. A theatre stage fit for my new favourite play."

The pair of hands that had framed its face slipped off, the gaze it then pinned Dirk under one of fervent exhilaration.

"I will help you get what you want, if you make it as interesting. As. Possible."

There was a beat where it stopped, taking a breath. If Dirk were to care, he would say it almost seemed embarrassed by its outburst. It brushed 'hair' out of his face, features softening, and eyes curved with mirth. Icy fingers ran along the desk as it walked along the length of it.

"You see, I chose you," it stopped behind him, hands gripping his shoulders, "because you have enemies."

The chair creaked as the being pulled it towards itself. It brought its face closer to Dirk's, smile mischievous. Being so close to it made the smell of flowers, (what had once only been hyacinths had mixed with roses and snapdragon, deepening into a concoction that, while less oppressive than it had once been, was just as strong), made Dirk's head swim. It was hard to focus on anything but the only other visible person in the room. The thing made sure of that. It giggled at the glare he sent it.

"You're feared. Hated. The smell of it permeates any room you enter."

It pushed the seat down until it towered over Dirk, blooms framing his surroundings until the only thing he could clearly see was its face. Sharp nails dug into his shoulders, felt even through his uniform.

"Trust me when I say: there is no more heady a scent."

The pleased expression on its face stayed even when Dirk pushed himself away from it a second time. Palms raised; it backed off before rounding the desk with a hand on its chin.

"You see, for a human, you have everything I want. Power, connections, a reach few others have… And there is nothing I love more than claiming those very things."

Distaste made Dirks teeth grind.

"You want to claim me," he spat.

It stood beside him, fingers steepled, and tilted its head. There was no denial to his claim.

"Tch. Don't be ridiculous."

The being did not speak, seemingly waiting for whatever else he had to say. And there was much he had yet to ask. No matter how irate it made him feel, if all it said was true, then it was too good a deal to pass by. Arms crossed, Dirk leant back, a finger tapping rhythmically against his uniform, and placed his feet up his desk.

"Prove it."

His voice cut through the room, as deep as it was harsh, and the thing scoffed.

"What? My strength?"

"No. What you are."

It took time to blink, eyebrows raised high.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" In its incredulity, it could not help but point at itself. "Look at me."

The only answer it got was an irritated glare.

Somehow, it seemed pleased. Although its smile was close-mouthed, still oddly wide but not as off-putting as it had been minutes earlier, there was an underlying excitement to it. An eagerness that forewarned only a hint of what it had in mind. A finger touched the desk, then another, trailing along the wood, leaving cold, fragile flowers to bloom in their wake.

"Well," it mused, voice light, "if you want."

Shadows fluctuated beside him, crawling along the arm of Dirk's seat to settle on his desk. Appearing in front of him, it swung a leg over the other, and, so quickly it took Dirk a second to understand what had happened, its hand circled his wrist. It pulled until his palm rested against its stomach, twining their fingers, and holding firm, as was proven when he attempted to pull back. Patient until his impassive gaze moved from their joined hands, it did nothing to stop the sword coming for its throat.

The Lux's blade shone blue as it arced through the air, cutting through the darkness and coming to a rest at the hollow of the thing's neck, pressed tight against it. Only the hand holding the weapon could be seen, the rest of the attacker's body hidden in the shadows, hardly breathing.

They did not move, neither did the thing. Not away from the weapon, at least. Instead, the being inclined itself into it, eyes glued to Dirk's.

"Would you be opposed to vivisecting me?" It asked, though it almost sounded as if it were musing to itself. "Or attempting to. I assure you, nothing you have right now will leave a mark."

With a snap of his fingers, the Lux drew straight across, grinding against its skin with a loud, hissing sound. A screech as if a knife sliding against ice, never cutting through. There were no barriers, no shine of prana being used for protection. The blade simply slipped against its flesh, leaving it as smooth as it had been before. On a closer look, its skin shone. However, it wasn't the gleam of blood reflecting against the light of the Lux, but instead a shimmer inside the thing's very being, like the reflection of the night sky against a lake. There was nothing even resembling a scratch along the width of its throat.

The thing released Dirk with a snicker, infinitely pleased with itself.

"Is that enough for you?"

Plans were already forming in his head. If it had taken a hit from a standard Lux without care, then perhaps even an Ogre Lux would do little damage. He had ways to test that theory, as long the thing was to cooperate. But it probably would. Easily, at that. It seemed more interested in his every expression and action than what happened to it. Putting aside its own safety in order to ensure that Dirk knew exactly what he was dealing with, and then staring at him with uninhibited interest as he lost himself in thought. Eyes like pearls were glued to his face in an attempt to catch every micro expression, as though trying to stare right through him, deep to his core. Perhaps it would be disappointed with what it saw.

Not that Dirk cared to find out.

The other hologram-widows had long since disappeared, but a few swipes on the computer terminal at his side brought a new one out in an instant.

"It'll take time. I'll have to nominate you; we can't have you coming out of nowhere."

"That isn't a problem."

"I need your name," he demanded, and it preened, leaning forward and tilting its head to see what he was doing.

"Niotl. I have no surname, so…" The newly denominated Niotl cupped its face in thought. "Ah! My Theeveshi is known as Leione, and I don't think she will mind if I use her name as mine. Can I design my uniform?"

The unknown word caught Dirk's attention. It sounded odd, as if it wasn't made to fit in a human's mouth, or, if Niotl's form was given a thought, something resembling a human. He filed it away for later.

"Do whatever you want," Dirk snapped.

Its smile didn't falter. In fact, his answer seemed to amuse it even more. With a sigh, he waved Niotl away as if shooing a stray dog, done with the interaction. There was no offense in its face as it hopped off his desk, happy to do as it was told for the time being. It strutted into the shadows, turning to face him once it reached a corner of the room.

"If you need me, you only have to call for me."

It grinned once, before melting into the darkness. Curved, pearlescent eyes dripped down a star-swirled body, leaving streaks of white that disappeared into the floor, melding and absorbing wilting flowers that had drifted down. With it faded the floral scent that once occupied the entire room, leaving it feeling oddly empty. Niotl's voice echoed even after it had disappeared and the door to the office opened, Korona Kashimaru poking her head in, glancing around quizzically in search of the dying noise. Finding nothing, she stepped in, greeting Dirk with a shy,

"Good morning, Mr. President!"

The only remnant of Niotl's visit were the scattered, teal flowers that left ephemeral frost on Dirk Eberwein's desk.