Crossroads Part I

Robert's hand was glowing with a strong light blue aura that seemed to pulsate ever so slightly through his fingers.

Mana from the air around him began to burn the moment he opened his hands as the flames engulfing the orb of mana became white. Upon extending his hand towards the rock pillars, he uttered.

"Air Blast."

Once the spell was released, he placed his left hand in front of himself and created a magic barrier consisting of light golden hexagons much like Yuna used in order to defend herself and Leona from an explosion.

The orb arced towards the middle of the pillars before bursting mid-air into a shower of fine mana mist and in the blink of an eye, the white fire ignited the dispersed mana into a fiery explosion that was blinding at first but then what followed was total devastation.

Grass, dirt, pieces of rock and stone were blasted into oblivion at the epicenter of the explosion. The overwhelming pressure came rushing past them like a hurricane with the unbearably loud noise of dispersing air right behind it as pieces of rocks came flying at incredible speeds towards them only to obliterate themselves against the golden barrier put up by Robert.

Though protected by him, Leona was still in awe after witnessing such destructive potential. Where the rock pillars stood, there was nothing left if not a crater of smoldering dirt and burnt grass around the outer parts of the blast.

"The spell you managed to unleash while you were training with Yuna was similar to this." Robert explained as he put the barrier down by lowering his left arm. "Unlike 'Fireball', it takes raw mana into the mix and makes it more volatile upon impact. If you manage to disperse the mana into a fine mist just before impact, you'll generate an even more powerful blast."

There was a brief moment of quiet as the dust settled. A deep sensation of dread was coming up from Leona's stomach—a cold discomforting feeling that could only be described as horrifying. Unbeknownst to her immediately, the entirety of her body was trembling; it was as if something locked deep within her soul was now running amok her mind.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead while her legs gave in. Only as her knees hit the ground, she came to realize that her body felt cold as stone.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Robert asked when he noticed her on the ground.

"I… I remember now." She uttered under her breath. Beads of sweat formed throughout her forehead. "I was training with Yuna and then I unleashed that spell…"

She looked at her trembling hand and repressed memories of her childhood began to emerge once again. Her inner world was beginning to collapse under itself with fissures splitting the earth and the cloudy skies quickly darkening the once dimly lit grasslands.

"I see." Robert's voice prompted her to glance at him. He held his head high while scratching the underside of his chin. "So you almost killed your friend with fire. That is the reason why you're so afraid of going all out."

He then kneeled beside her with a confident look on his face which made Leona regard him with anger as she felt like she was being mocked.

"Is this amusing to you?!"

"Oh no, far from it. But if I'm going to uphold my promise—I'll need to get rid of this trauma of yours." He snapped his right fingers and the gaping earth was temporarily mended by spikes of stone that held the ground together. "This irrational fear of power."

He then placed his left hand on her shoulder which at first seemed harmless, until she felt a sharp pain come up her brain. It was like a jolt of electricity that felt like it was emanating throughout her body as she screamed.

"Argh! Aaaaah!"

Her head felt like it was being split open. The repressed emotions came back all at once in a torrential wave of dread and guilt.

"This world has no place for those who don't give their all!" He shouted as if he knew she could hear her. "You can do it Leona! I know you can!"

She could hear her own heartbeat as the rush of adrenaline was also making her breathing sharp and ragged.

While fighting through the unbearable pain she noticed the ground below her feet was starting to give away like quicksand, but instead of falling into it—the dirt and grass were changing to a glass-like appearance before solidifying into panels under her feet.

The former endless grassland was now an ever-expanding floor with crystal tiles covering the surface everywhere the eye could see.

Leona's eyes widened in despair as she recognized that place.

"A crystal palace huh?" Robert muttered under his breath. "Interesting… not many can imagine an abstract place like this."

The formerly darkened sky charged with electricity was becoming further and further away from them as the lightning strikes were growing ever more distant—giving place to a now gnawing blackness above them.

"This place… it's 'her' inner world… not mine…!"

Leona shakily stood up only to fall with her back against a crystal pillar that wasn't there previously. Her eyes darted around as other countless crystal pillars began to emerge from the floor towards the endless ceiling above.

"Hers you say…" Robert was looking around the endless palace as if searching for something. "Do you mean the other 'you' or your sword's inner world? You know, sentient weapons can have their own inner world if they are powerful and aware of their own existence."

"I… I don't know… she- ugh!"

There was another sharp excruciating pain that made her head throb.

"Well, well… what do we have here?"

Loud and dry footsteps came from behind them. At which point both Leona and Robert turned to see who it was.

"Hmmm… interesting…" Robert muttered while scratching his chin. "So even if I kill you, you can come back as long as her trauma remains. Empress of Annihilation is quite the fitting name for someone so tenacious such as you, Leona."

The woman raised her right arm which sparked with electricity. She seemed unconcerned with Leona kneeling on the ground as she walked right past her without batting an eye, however her gaze was focused on the man in front of her as if she was meeting a long lost nemesis.

"So your name is Robert. I wanted to know who the 'otherworldly hero' truly was." Her mechanical left hand shifted her blonde hair out of the way of her left eye. "You are nothing more than a jester working for Lastraeus aren't you? A jester determined to take everyone down with you."

"Heh." He snickered. "Maybe the other 'me' from your timeline, yes. But I can assure you I only have my interests in mind in this world."

"Hmph. That is what a slave of the void would say!"

She suddenly extended her hand out and a burst of lightning arced from her hand towards him. However despite the surprise attack, Robert didn't seem at all fazed and simply erected a mana barrier that blocked all lightning.

He sighed.

"What have the other 'me' been teaching you? Lightning magic is the worst element for a surprise attack." He flicked his hand and a powerful gust of wind knocked the woman back into multiple crystal pillars before she came to a stop against a fifth. "Didn't even see that one coming, did you?" He then turned to Leona who was watching everything from the floor. "Hey Leona, stand up. You've got to fight that thing."

"Huh?"

"That other 'you' is a figment of your mind. Probably something deriving from your communio with Avalon or simply the will of the previous wielder that has now infected your mind so to speak." He offered her his hand. "You need to fight it. If you let her run amok your mind—you'll eventually collapse under her influence."

Leona tilted her head down slightly as her sharp breath and cold sweating was taking a hold of her senses.

"I…"

"HE IS THE REASON I AM LIKE THIS!" A shout filled with anger echoed around the endless palace. Emerging from the rubble of collapsed pillars, the Empress raised her right hand in front of her, but this time mana was starting to accrete towards the middle of her palm. "MY PEOPLE! MY KINGDOM! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"

An azure blaze started to grow from the mana she fed into it.

"Fire huh?" Robert unceremoniously grabbed Leona by the waist and lifted her up under his arm. "Hey Leona, do you know about air pressure?"

"Wait! What are you-?!"

"Make an air barrier with the lowest pressure you can manage. Or else we'll both be burned into a crisp."

Once she heard his words, she noticed the Empress wielding a fireball the size of a basketball which was surely enough to burn them both down to the bone. Her body instinctively tensed up, but Robert flicked his finger against her forehead which made her body jerk up.

"Gah!"

"It's now or never Leona. If you can't even confront yourself, what hope do you have to protect those around you?"

"SHUT UP WILL YOU?!"

The Empress shouted as she unleashed the fireball towards them. In a stroke of luck or perhaps fear, Leona pointed her right hand towards the incoming spell and blasted it with a condensed dose of extremely hot air which was the best she could manage at that point in time.

Of course it wasn't enough to completely stop the fireball but it greatly diminished its effects.

'We're dead.'

Was the thought that came to Leona's mind but Robert seemed genuinely impressed.

"Ho? Not bad."

With a snap of his fingers, the ball of fire simply extinguished mid air.

"Wha-?!"

The Empress eyes went wide once her most powerful spell was easily countered. Robert on the other hand, turned to Leona.

"Using ice against a high temperature fireball is dangerous because of the steam it can create, but if you use something like a vacuum, not even my 'Air Blast' spell can survive without air to burn."

"Enough of this farce!" The Empress yelled. "How many lives have been lost?! How many times have I had to soak my hands in blood?! None of you come close to sacrificing as much as I have! And none of you will!"

After that point, Leona stared at her own shaking hand before closing it tightly. Though it wasn't her words, she could feel the despair within the Empress' voice. In truth, Leona knew she was someone else—someone that shouldn't be in this world. But despite that knowledge, she chose to close her heart due to fear. Fear to become what she had seen.

"Enough." Her decisive voice echoed throughout the crystalline palace. She stood now on her own two feet. "This is not your world. This is not your battle. And certainly, not your life to live." She raised her hand towards the Empress. "I will carve my own path."