Season Finale: Alive

Suddenly, Ace felt a searingly cold sensation on his legs. He looked down apathetically. There was ice creeping up his feet. A line of ice trailed back to the Emperor who was standing unsteadily behind him with his hand raised. Ace dropped his hands.

Clover fell back motionless. Ace immediately shattered the ice at his feet and turned to the Emperor with cold eyes.

"You're just as bad," Ace remarked, "your father let my village starve to death and that's what you were trying to lord over me?"

"Your village remains," the Emperor answered, "I took it back when I became emperor. They no longer starve. Some of the original residents still remain there,"

Ace smiled shaking his head, "How generous of you,"

The Emperor threw up his hand as Ace approached and a wall of ice separated them. Ace let out a laugh.

"What are you hiding for? You're the Emperor, you should be the first to die,"

Behind him, Clover's eyes flickered open. They glanced down, exhaling with difficulty. They turned over slowly, inhaling shallow breaths. They pushed themselves up and turned back apprehensively. Ace was gone.

Clover's eyes widened as they searched the area rapidly. At that moment, Ace's forearm came around their throat dragging them to a stand.

"You didn't think I would actually let you go, did you?" Ace laughed.

"You think Rhiann wants you to kill me?" Clover gasped.

"He said it's fine, as long as I throw your body in the pit when i'm done with it," Ace smiled, tightening his grip. "But it's going to be a while before that happens. So get comfortable,Clover,"

"You're making it pretty difficult for me to do that," Clover exhaled through gritted teeth.

Clover threw themselves forward, pulling Ace over their shoulder. He hit the floor with a slam. The instant he did, Clover threw up both hands encasing him in earth magic. Ace fought against it once more, but Clover's magic kept regurgitating as he did so.

"Whatever you're trying to do, Clover," Ace hissed, "it won't work. Don't you know it's pointless to fight him? He'll have you one way or the other. The gods demand it,"

"I don't care what the gods demand," Clover stared down unmoved.

At that moment, Michael came around the wall of ice, holding up the Emperor. They both knelt down beside Ace. The Emperor leaned forward and placed his hand on Ace's forehead again and closed his eyes.

Across from them, Rhiann was sitting aside, staring down with a forlorn stare, "How merciless humans are," he remarked.

"What should I do?" Ace's jaw clenched as he was hit with a shock of magic.

Michael turned to Clover apprehensively. "Who is he talking to ?"

"Him," Clover answered with somber eyes.

The Emperor had become very still in deep concentration. "Please, my love. Help us," he whispered.

Suddenly, the Emperor's eyes opened. His brilliant blue eyes looked straight ahead at something neither Michael nor Clover could see.

"You," the Emperor exhaled vengefully, staring at Rhiann.

Rhiann looked back at him with a smile.

"Where is my wife?" the Emperor demanded.

"In the belly of the beast," Rhiann smirked.

Ace's eyes turned to Rhiann apprehensively. No one had been able to see him aside from Ace.

"It's okay," Rhiann said soothingly, "this one, I know well,"

"What do you know of me?" the Emperor spat, "Tell me where she is!"

Rhiann raised his silk robe covering his red eyes entirely. When he pulled it back revealing himself once more, his eyes were a pristine green. Flaming emerald hair rolled down the pale white skin.

"Hush, my love," Lucia whispered, "You call and I have come,"

The Emperor's eyes widened, watering slightly. His vein showed forward with the strain as he stared ahead completely in awe. He inhaled sharply.

"You are not.." he began.

"Aren't I?" Lucia answered.

"Don't you remember how we walked in the garden during the summer rain? You told me I was your moon because you were the sun,"

"That's not what I..." The Emperor halted, "You are not her," he said flatly.

"How can you say that?" Lucia smiled.

"Because you reek of death," The Emperor's cool composure returned, "Your tricks cannot deceive me,"

"So it seems," Lucia answered with a smile.

"Enough with your parlour tricks demon," the Emperor said flatly, "Where is my wife? Where is the real Lucia?"

"She is with me. A fate worse than death so they say."

"Give her back to me,"

"I think not. Her punishment is not yet over. She dared raise her blade against me. Now she is entombed in the shrine of death and unending suffering. I will never relinquish her. She is mine."

The Emperor's eyes glared a most violent shade of ice blue, "You will,"

At that instant, Ace's body began to convulse with the shock. Michael and Clover turned to the Emperor alarmed but he did not relent. Rhiann came to a stand staring down with supremely malign, glowing red eyes.

"You do not command me, boy," Rhiann leered.

"Return her, you demon!" The Emperor screamed.

"I am not a demon," Rhiann seethed, "I am a GOD!"

"You are no god," the Emperor said unwaveringly, "You are nothing,"

Rhiann's face spread into a wide unnatural grin. The Emperor was suddenly thrown back. His jaw clenched with the force of it and his head went back.

"Keitel?" Clover called him.

The Emperor didn't respond. His body started to shake. Still, he did not break his grip on Ace.

"We have to break the connection," Michael said to Clover, "It's going to kill one of them,"

Clover clenched their fist glancing at Ace once more.

"Not yet,"

The Emperor brought his head back forward with strain. Blood started streaming from his nose and eyes. He inhaled sharply.

"Let me see her," he stared up at Rhiann viciously.

"What a terrible force of will," Rhiann smiled. "But you cannot reach her. She is shrouded in darkness,"

"Then I will pray for light," The Emperor inhaled deeply, "Goddess of love, I pray to you. Lome, please. Give me your strength,"

Rhiann's expression curled up in revolution ,"How dare you speak that name in front of me?!" he said in a low feral voice.

"Please," The Emperor went on, "Goddess, find your warrior. Lucia did everything you asked. Please save her!"

"You're a fool if you the goddess will help you now. You have the stench of a non-believer."

"It doesn't matter whether I believe it or not. No one believed in the goddess more than she did. The goddess will save her. Lome, please. Save her!" he expelled the words even more fervently than before.

"The goddess will not answer," Rhiann smiled, "she fears me now. After all, she is the reason I am here,"

As the Emperor continued his prayer, the blood continued to pour.

"It's killing him," Michael said once more.

Clover turned to Ace, "please Ace! You have to fight it as well!"

"AS soon as I get out of this, i'm going to kill you, Clover," Ace spat, "I'm going to kill all of you!"

Michael suddenly pushed past Clover with wild rage filled eyes. "You're angry, Ace?" he stared down. "Yeah, you should be,"

"Michael," Clover interceeded but Michael wasn't finished.

"Your best friend is dead and you're here fighting us?" Michael breathed vehemently, "Wake up, you obnoxious brat and come to your senses right now!"

Ace stared at him with a blank expression but stopped struggling.

"While you were off playing lord of the castle, didn't you realise that Bird hasn't come with us once?!" Michael expelled the words viciously. "Or are you so bad now that you don't care about him anymore? Even though he loved you for gods know why,"

"You're ly.." Ace began.

However, once more Michael cut in, "You think I would lie about this? Wake up! As if I care whether you become a demon or not. The only reason i'm here, is because you fucking got in my way! "

Ace blinked rapidly, "It's a lie..."

"Don't listen to him, Ace," Rhiann interceeded, "It is a lie. They're trying to weaken you. You can't give in,"

"It is not a lie," the Emperor said with glanced down, "I read the report myself. It is the truth,"

Ace's eyes widened in horror.

"No, it isn't.." Rhiann once more interrupted.

However, it was Michael's loud, vengeful voice which belted Ace's ears.

"You stopped me, you little shit!! I almost had her! You let her escape. Because of you, Bird's killer got a away,"

At that moment, Ace started to shake. Clover released their magic. Ace turned over throwing a hand over his face.

"No..no...no.." he whispered. "No, it can't be,"

Michael stared at him quietly, "I found his body myself. "

Suddenly, Rhiann doubled over, clutching his chest. He feebly attempted to call to Ace but to no avail. The Emperor came to a stand. He stared mercilessly at the god of the moon with shining relentless eyes.

"My love," he said, "Please, come back to me,"

Rhiann spun back wildly. He stumbled backwards. His head shook from side to side madly. With each jerk back and forth, the paleness of his skin gained a soft colour. The darkness in the emerald eyes filled with radiant green light. Finally, his dark robe was coated in an ethereal white.

Lucia turned to the Keitel with wide clear eyes.

"Keitel?" she said softly, "Where am I?"

The Emperor raced toward hers. However, the moment he approached, the spell was broken. The darkness returned with a terrible vengeance coating the entirety of her body in a black crust. By the time the Emperor reached her, the remaining visage shattered into a thousand pieces and flitted away like ashes .

As it did, Ace abruptly sat up straight. He let out a mixture of cry and a gasp as if awakening from an unspeakable nightmare. He suddenly flew up and turned to Michael. Michael reached instinctively to his sword but halted upon meeting Ace's eyes.

They were full of tears, "Why didn't you tell me?!" Ace sobbed.

The darkness was gone from his eyes. The tears fell from his wide childlike eyes passionately.

"I'm telling you now," Michael said in a low voice.

"How?!" Ace cried.

"It was Kalandra. She killed him," Michael answered with a shaky exhale.

Ace's mouth fell open in disbelief. Ace threw his face into his palms and cried uncontrollably. Michael turned back to Clover solemnly. Clover rose slowly and put a hand over Ace's shoulder. They gently pulled him closer as he continued to cry. Ace buried his face in Clover's chest as the tears fell without an end in sight.

Michael glanced over at the Emperor, "did it work? What did you see?"

The Emperor was staring ahead with a vacant expression, "she...Lucia is alive,"

Both Clover's and Michael's eyes came up with a start.

"Are you certain?" Michael asked in disbelief.

"I saw her. It was only for an instance, but I'm certain," The Emperor's eyes came down intensely and feverishly.

"My Empress is alive."