Cassandra Pendragon
There was a reason why those memories were sealed. The mere recollection of the powers Gabriel and I had unleashed was dangerous beyond comprehension. What we had done…
"I did learn and I did listen," I breathed in her ear, "that's why I didn't call out to you. You've got a decision to make, darling. Would you rather continue to chew me out or do you want an explanation?" I leaned back on my mossy bed and pulled her with me.
"For someone who's been willing to die a few minutes ago you're awfully audacious," she grumbled, her tiny wings always whispering caressingly over my skin. "I'll listen first then chew you out."
"Fair enough. I'd show you, but I can't. If you were to relive what happened it might come to life again. You'd be fine, but this world… do you know where I am?"
"Stop stalling," she chastised. "You're still on Gaya. Can't you smell the energy? You're either on the planet or in one of the subrealms. Now, tell me. How did you survive… how did you win? And why on earth did you give up? Goddamn it, Cassy, you're only responsible for your own choices."
"I'm a slow learner," I chuckled, the existential dread that had kept me prisoner before had evaporated as soon as I had seen her. By the Great Fox, it was almost pathetic, but I didn't mind. "Did you… did you see what allowed me to wake up?"
"I did. It's the only reason why I haven't set your hair on fire. Yet. What is it with you, anyways? Why did you have to lose yourself in the first place? What Lucifer has told you… Cassy, you've hurt me. When you went… there, you abandoned me! And then you turn right around and prove that you really love me. I want to be furious, I want to strangle you, but you've even managed to ruin that. What's been going through that head of yours?" She was trembling and I… I was feeling loved. But I really owed her an explanation.
"In that case I should better start at the beginning," I chuckled, which of course made her pinch my cheek. Gently. More or less. "Our connection was severed when the circle closed, wasn't it? I guess that was on Gabriel. She had crafted the runes with the essence of my brother's people, my own blood in a way. Remember the curse Arthur and Aglaia mentioned? It wasn't a curse, it was a damned harvest. The resulting seal was strong, strong enough to block our link. To escape… you know the rules, you've told me yourself when I was summoned for the first time. I had to change, I had to evolve. Or I had to die, which really wasn't an option. I… you know me. I didn't have a plan. I only knew that a spark of Lucifer must be contained in the cube he left for me. Then there was Amazeroth's book and the diadem…"
"Which diadem," she interrupted but before I could contemplate an answer she added: "right. I see. Chaleb. Gabriel gave him one of her treasures so that you could seal his core instead of annihilating it when you stole the ring. Is he still in there?"
"Very much. But don't ask me how to get him out. The power I used was enough to loosen his shackles but I'd never dare to try anything comparable on Gaya. Never mind Amazeroth's wards, even the planet wouldn't survive the fallout. I was lucky. Gabriel's struggle to create something that can contain me was a blessing in disguise. She took us, Reia and me, to the prison I had made for her. My own seals and her magic allowed me to fight without restraint. I… to be honest, I don't know what I've done. Somehow I channeled enough raw power into the artefacts to… break them? No… maybe change them? Like I said, I'm not sure. All I know is that they suddenly responded to my call. My crown… it came alive and it… took something from the cube, the diadem and the tome. A memory. No, that's not right. It wasn't a memory. It was more. You know what I learned, what I felt. You know who I am. That was the price I had to pay… not the knowledge, as daunting as it might be. When it was all over I had to… feel, to live through what I've done. Again." My voice broke but I pressed on regardless. I had to tell her.
"Boseiju, Viyara's plight, the messed up fiasco with Shassa… the sacrifices it had taken to make it happen. And this time I wasn't trying to make it out alive. I… the magic made me suffer alongside everyone who had bled, who had died… because of me. I'm not trying to make up an excuse, but after I had just subdued my sister, after I had extinguished a life far older than this planet I simply couldn't… I couldn't take it and I… I broke." I closed my eyes. Tears were glistening on my cheeks again but they were of a different kind. They weren't born from despair or pain. They were a sign that I was staring to heal, that I was finally able to accept who I was and that I'd be able to move on. One day. With Ahri at my side we'd forge a new destiny for us. The dawn was going to come.
Despite her proclamations I felt her warm lips move against my skin when she kissed away my tears. "I'm so sorry," she breathed against my skin as her raging flames finally calmed down.
"Whatever are you sorry for," I asked chokingly.
"For not being there. Every time…" when I heard the pain in her voice I opened my eyes again. She was on the verge of tears as well. "Whenever it matters I can't… I still can't help you." Now it was my turn to get angry. And then I grinned crookedly. We really were two stubborn peas in a cracked pot. "That's not funny," she snivelled and rubbed her mesmerising eyes with her palms.
"No, it really isn't. You're sorry, I'm sorry and we're both crying. Again."
"The beauty of marriage. At least we have a reason," she whispered through a few hiccups. "You scared me. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't returned." Which was kind of a sore spot. One I had never dared to addressed before, but we were already in tears.
"Ahri… I'm going to tell you everything you want to know, but beforehand there's… look, chances are that you're going to outlive me…" of course she wouldn't let me finish.
"Like hell I will," she snarled. Her temperature spiked again and I had to increase the pressure of my wings to keep our cozy cave from lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Forever doesn't mean until death do us part." I could only sigh, exasperate and happy in equal measure.
"Just listen for a moment, will you? I've never asked, I don't even know if you remember, but… before Lucifer and Aurora… did you know that we accompanied each other's incarnations? Without dying? We… you can see my memories. The first time Gabriel asked me to help her keep her soul I was old and tired. I meant to change… I became Lucifer but before that I helped you through the first years of your new life. Afterwards you did the same for me. Why can't we…"
"Because that's not how this is going to turn out." Her anger was gone. Now she sounded… sad. "If you fall our siblings won't allow you to rise. Not again. It took Amazeroth and Chaleb and Lucifer and Mephisto and who knows how many more to make it happen once. It won't happen a second time. And you can't ask me to remain behind when you're actually… gone. I won't."
"Damn it, Ahri, if that's the case I'm done. I'm going to run and hide with you until the goddamned mess blows over, one way or the other. Is that what you want?" Her answer came as a surprise:
"If I believed, even for a second, that you could live with yourself afterwards, I'd ask you to do exactly that. As often as it'd take. But you can't. It'd destroy you. Maybe not today but as soon as you'd stumble across something you can't watch in silence we'd be back at square one. How long do you think that'd take? A year? A century? Sacrificing our one chance to actually live for a few years of peace… no. We've been over this. Several times. What's changed?"
"I'm growing up," I admitted. "When you're young you're feeling invincible and what I am has only made it worse. Every time I've actually been in danger something's happened. You, our friends, my own powers… something or someone has always kept me safe. I fear I'm running out of aces in the hole. With Gabriel I've used up my last joker. And it almost wasn't enough. Look, for me it's going to be one more evolution. One I can already feel burning inside of me. All I have to do is let go and I'll become an immortal. After that… there won't be any safeguards or carefully laid out plans. It'll be us against hundreds of immortals and only god knows how many of them are corrupted. Honestly… I'm not giving up but aside from trying to comfort you I don't think much of our chances. What it took to overcome Gabriel… I'm pretty sure I can face a few, once I've taken the last step, but a few corrupted ones? Or maybe ten? A hundred? There's simply no way. The next time I'll be cornered it's probably going to go the other way."
"You're selling yourself short, which I don't mind," a new voice commented. A voice I had only heard once before. "You've faced the armies of heaven and hell and you've held on for quite a while. That was back then. I think you'll become stronger than Lucifer ever was. But your own power aside, you're also underestimating your dark side… and us. Amazeroth's plans don't end with Gaya and the two of you aren't as alone as you make yourselves out to be. Aren't you the least bit curious what your sister turned into?" A wave of fire and silver light flooded the cave and in its wake a glowing sphere appeared, pulsing with an angry red, about the same size as Ahri's tiny form. "My, oh my, we're a bit on edge, aren't we," Lilith asked sarcastically as she hovered closer. "No welcome kiss? Not even a hug? Are you still mad that I left you in that circle? Apparently it did you some good, after all. Hello Ahri. Wow, your current size does stimulate the imagination. Can you shrink at will? Could be fun." Without a care in the world she settled down between my breasts and leaned against the soft skin. Her body… her construct felt like the touch of a scorching wind, hot, but not unbearably so. "Pretty comfortable," she added innocently while I froze, taken completely off guard, "but I guess that's not the place you were aiming… ouch!"
They had never met, at least not in their current incarnation, but when the small, burning angel chased the mote of light off me and around the cave, one pleading the other cursing, I couldn't suppress a smile. Home. It felt like home. Aside from the slightly perverted implication Lilith had used to rile Ahri up. Not that I blamed her. Ahri, that is. If our roles had been reversed I'd probably have tried to deep fry the demoness as well. In a very non lethal way, of course.
"I'm sorry," the red mote exclaimed frantically as crimson flames were starting to char her outline. "I really am!"
"Sorry? No, not yet, but you soon will be," the kitsune hissed. Judging from her tone of voice she was indeed trying to burn the demoness to cinders but I felt her power surge against my wings and she wasn't exerting all that much to begin with. She meant to scare her and make a point. Maybe singe her a little bit.
"Girls," I said after a few moments when the flickering lights and the aggressive hum of their movements were starting to give me a headache, "can we call it a day? Let's consider it a lesson learned. No more touching. Where's Reia," I added quietly.
The miniaturised kitsune poked the floating orb with her wings one last time for good measure, eliciting a squeal and a tiny cloud of smoke that smelled like burned rubber, before she settled down on my shoulder, her eyes never leaving the demoness. A living, breathing danger sign.
"Trading," Lilith huffed while she floated as far away from Ahri as she could. "The girl has killed a Shadowprowler on her own and she's trying to sell the hide."
"Shadowprowler," Ahri asked, even though she resolutely refused to look at her.
"A magical creature," Lilith immediately explained, eager to get back into her good graces, "take a dark, shadowy place with a high concentration of energy, add a few wild cats to the mix and wait a couple of millennia et voila… the ones around here aren't that large, maybe the size of a tiger, but they're dangerous hunters, especially in groups, and the older they become the more nasty they get."
"Never heard of them," I admitted. "An indigenous species?" The hovering ball snorted.
"Oh boy, you've no idea what's happened, do you? Do us a favour and use your second sight. Both of you. Provided your overzealous guard dog can use her senses in that strange state she's in." I frowned but did as she had asked. A silver curtain descended around me and the lattice of reality became much less substantial. Behind the colourful veil the frothing fringes of the void waited but in between a… wound had opened, a tear that ran through the very fabric of our world, constantly bleeding into our realm.
"What the…," I began confusedly, but Lilith cut me off.
"I'm going to spare you the guessing game. I've only managed to escape Gabriel's clutches partly when she died so I haven't seen everything but I'm decently sure the two of you have annihilated the realm you fought in. When it crumbled the pressure spread. The other subrealms can't cope. They're breaking apart, bit by bit. So… in a way those creatures are indigenous, they belong to Gaya. But they've escaped from another realm. Which, I can't say but they aren't the first and they sure as heavens won't be the last. You can see the tears yourselves. I'd guesstimate it's going to take about a month until the realms are bled dry. Every thing in there will either have escape by then or will be crushed by a crumbling reality. Not a very nice way to go." She paused before she quickly added: "and before you get any funny ideas, that's in no way shape, way or form your problem. Don't even think about saving them all. There are too many…"
"Can the realms themselves be stabilised," I interrupted her and the glowing orb literally deflated.
"Possibly. Both of you have the strength but unless you've already remembered everything related to dimensional physics and astral distortions I don't think you can achieve anything besides making it worse. This time it's not about throwing energy at the problem until it's resolved. You need actual skill to anchor a realm without destroying it. Something you two don't have and I can't help. If I had my core, maybe, but that thing is still sealed miles below the ocean. Right alongside Odin. You can thank your guardian demon for that. Amazeroth saved us against Hekate… you did receive our present, didn't you? The egg? Hecate's core? I can feel her inside your ring, so that part actually worked out. Unfortunately he also sent us here without mentioning Gabriel. As soon as Odin and I had made our way back to this godforsaken no man's land of a forgotten rock that bitch trapped us. Out of pure spite. Who does that?"
"You would," Ahri scoffed surprisingly softly. She was apparently still miffed but there was no real heat behind her words. Just like me she was struggling to wrap her head around what the demoness had said. Oh boy, things were going to change. Fast. And I still hadn't been able to touch Ahri for days. Goddamn, maybe I should have slept for a while longer.
"All hells," I mumbled, "we're going to need a bit more than just a few words. What happened to you? And where are we even? Reia is safe, right?"
"She's a newly born immortal. Of course she's not safe but she's also not in any real danger for now. We're on one of the islands on this shit hole of a planet. Don't ask me which one, but it's quite large. The Shadowprowlers weren't the only thing that's come through. Your sister is making new friends, I hope. I left as soon as I felt your powers stir. Dunno if she's found them."
"Are you moonstruck," I erupted. "How far away is she? Whom is she dealing with?"