The air was quiet. The dust settled, and the remains of the mutated Haibiulunka lay motionless on the ground. Tenebrosia walked towards the pulsing tumor that attached itself to the cavern's wall. It felt more unnerving each time Tenebrosia got closer to it. It radiated malicious pulsing waves of hostility through its magical content. The Maiden of Darkness didn't dare touch it, out of personal disgust yet again. She knows it's alive, or what used to be. The blighted swelling continued to groan slowly, and the woman continued to examine it. "I can't figure what…" she muttered. Without a second, she summoned Chateau Scapegrace from her dimensional pocket and jumped backward before opening the gates of the weapon and revealing its cannon. It fired powerful shots of cannonballs at the giant swell, and after that shot, it ruptured. The glowing substance within ceased emitting light, but its contents remained liquid. Most of it gushed down the open sinkhole beneath the ruptured tumor, but some splattered to nearby walls or the uneven, rocky floors of stone.
Tenebrosia unmanifested her weapon and approached the dark magenta liquid that lay on the ground. She was on one knee, with her hands just right above it. "Blood. Must be a culmination of various organisms," she muttered before standing up. The Maiden once again walked for a while, analyzing every single thing she could theorize. "Those ecologists were sent here to be fodder by the Crown. But why?" Tenebrosia pondered longer. However, the cavern began to shake violently as rocks and stalactites rained down from above. "Damn," is all that Tenebrosia can say before shrugging her shoulders and summoning her magical dragonfly wings as she rapidly ascended through the sinkholes above from a cavern that was about to collapse.
…
The Maiden quickly reached the surface, as the surface layer of the Graupelwind Plains began to sink into the giant sinkhole that led to the caverns below. Sediments of rock and soil sealed the holes beneath; the earth covered it as if nothing truly happened. What remained was a crater covered with soil and snow, sinking lower than the rest of the Plains. Tenebrosia landed, and the moment her boots touched the soil, her wings unmanifested. The Maiden looked up: the sun was about to rise. She then sighed, "I hope the boy is still asleep, don't want him eating whatever's nearby around here." The woman walked off with one foot in front, the other behind her, as she intended to go back to the camped carriage.
Tenebrosia reached the hidden cave once more, brushing against the vines and leaves that hid the entrance with the back of her hand. She disabled the forcefield the moment she entered the cave. Her eyes saw Sekai and Aiwa still asleep, as well as Amma, who continued to let out slow, heavy, and gentle breathing.
—
Within a few short moments, Tenebrosia came back with a sack full of fruits untainted by the blight and threw it in front of the sleeping Mayuno, causing Amma to awake and let out a short retort immediately by its trumpet sound. This caused Sekai to yelp awake and Aiwa to squeak, which earned a small laugh from the Maiden. Amma looked at the woman with a comically disdainful expression, and Sekai and Aiwa both tilted their heads in confusion. After the Maiden's entertainment, she finally spoke. "Wake up, you three. The Summits are near. We ought to embark early." "But breakfast! Sekai yelped, and Aiwa squeaked in agreement.
…
—
Moments passed, and the carriage found itself traversing the Graupelwind Plains once more. The gargantuan trees swayed lightly, and Tenebrosia stood on the roof of the carriage as the Mayuno pulled it. Inside, Sekai was having a muffled conversation with his Dunwaku companion. Squeaks and laughter, as well as small rufflings from within. "How long could I keep your innocence?" Tenebrosia thought within her head. She continued to stand, gazing out at the tundra. The giant trees swallowed the view to the horizon, and twisted bushes surrounded the area, an obvious sign of the blight. Due to Tenebrosia feeding the Mayuno and Sekai with his Aiwa, they dare not eat any of the foraged goods the Plains may offer, their appetites stuffed. Once again, deep in hidden guilt and thought, Tenebrosia pondered. Her index and middle fingers touched the sides of her glasses. She held a poker face and had her eyes closed. Voices of the past came flooding to her. Remnants of shadowed history that she hid so long, torment and drag Tenebrosia as though she were once swallowed by a darkness that hadn't left her.
…
"YOU SHOULD BE BURNED!" A woman yelled at Tenebrosia as a young adolescent wandering the streets of Windstrew all by herself. Even though Ragena successfully ascended to the position of Director, the discrimination never truly left.
"Demon worshipper, you are not welcome within the premises." A Cardinal warned Tenebrosia, still in her adolescence, after setting foot on a sanctuary just to see the beauty of the architecture.
"You shall rise soon enough. And you would be essential to whatever I plan." An unknown yet eerily familiar voice rang throughout. Who is it? The foggy memories are becoming more mysterious.
Blood spilled. From her naked hands.
…
Tenebrosia snapped awake. Reality around her seemed to begin to bend from her perspective. Blood? Blood she has spilled? She doesn't remember it. "Did I…?" Tenebrosia questioned herself. She disregarded. "Surely, I– never mind." Tenebrosia refortified her wits again, wiping away the worry with a wave of her hand close to her face. Her whispers weren't heard, even for the Mayuno. The carriage continued to stroll, as if nothing had happened. But for the Maiden, something was truly happening from within. The wind howled, the trees swayed, critters squeaked, predators growled from the distance, chasing prey. Tenebrosia was out of sync, out of focus, in thought. The sun's rays greeted the group once more as the thick clouds moved, then disappeared again. Nature was in harmony.
The winds howled and howled, like a thousand wolves traveling through the carriage. Amma continued to pull the bogie; it rattled in the uneven gravel below, with the snow covering most of it. Tenebrosia was distraught, though she secretly hid it behind her cool face. Her voluminous hair swayed lightly as she continued to stand, pondering. Suddenly, a muffled symphony rang above the skies: the sacred trumpets of the angels and the hellish drums of the demons played– and then, gone. "We must be near the mountains," Tenebrosia concluded. Trying to delay the inevitable is useless; there is no turning back. The trees that surrounded the path to the Summits, the vegetation, the rocks, the animals– all beyond recognition. They were either dead, warped, or twisted into grotesque formations that were too much for their usual bodies to handle. Corpses of animals are buried in snow, or trampled or eaten by other animals. "There were more tumors than I thought," Tenebrosia muttered.
Amma was shaking. The Mayuno released shaky and soft trumpets, and it halted. The path ahead was clear, yet the twisted abominations of nature surrounding the group terrified it. Sekai, within the carriage, noticed this and went outside, unbeknownst to the scene that was to appear the moment he stepped outside. "Miss, what's going on–" before he could speak, the Padomas boy paused. His pure innocence was tested, and his optimism challenged. Aiwa landed on the child's shoulder, squeaking with glee, then changed to silence the second the Dunwaku noticed the horrifying scenery before them. "Miss…?" Sekai squeaked, whispering with shaky breaths under his breath. Such a concept of morbid death is an alien concept to his mind. Why this happens is something he will never know the answer to. His bravery was being forced to convert into fear despite how long the Maiden had taught him to be confident at all times.
Tenebrosia already anticipated the moment would come when his innocence his tested. However, what awaits the Summits would be far worse than what it is down here. There is no point hiding it from him. A promise she gave herself of keeping such things away from Sekai's eyes is now broken; a promise Tenebrosia was willing to die for. However, the world may need her. She can't die now. "The world is dark with evil people, Sekai." She spoke, her eyes moving, yet her body wasn't. She saw Sekai, frozen in place. Tenebrosia jumped from the carriage and landed right beside him. The Padomas boy's feet touched the snow, his body almost turning pale from fear and no words. "Would you still be my apprentice, even if things get worse?" Tenebrosia spoke, her voice more of a whisper yet stern. "I promise, I will guard you," a pause, "and teach you to your truest potential." Another pause of silence. Then, Sekai finally turned to the Maiden. "...Yes." He spoke before wiping the fear from his face with a good rub of his arm on it. "Miss, there is no family left for me if I give up. You are my family!" He spoke with enthusiasm, trying to shake the fear. "That's a dearie." Tenebrosia reciprocated Sekai's attempt to rid himself of the inner distress he has. "Now, why don't you calm your large beast-friend over there and tell him the same thing?" The Maiden pointed to Amma, whose eyes locked itself to see the path ahead. Its large feet are shaking and its trunk twitching. Sekai nodded and immediately walked to the Mayuno with Aiwa on the boy's shoulder. "Amma," Sekai spoke, but the beast continued to dread the path ahead. "We've come this far. We could do this, together." The boy gently patted Mayuno's side, and the beast calmed down as expected. It shook off its terror, too, in a similar way to Sekai, then huffed. An indication that Sekai should go back inside. "You heard the big man, little one. Get back inside," Tenebrosia spoke. A nod was given back to Tenebrosia by the boy before quickly heading back, and the journey continued its course. However, for the Maiden, she knew such talk of hope was naive.
The journey to the Moirai Summits was hard. The blizzard returned once more, and the group had to make several stops in a day before settling in a temporary encampment in a suitable place throughout the rocky path ahead. The mountains were only a few days long, but the intervals the group had to take extended the journey. For Tenebrosia with her new powers, journeying through the Summits would take her in just hours, she assumed. But with her companions struggling to keep up with the harsh conditions of the Graupelwind Plains and the path to the Moirai Summits was too much.
The group stopped at a corner hidden between leafless, gargantuan trees. Amma rested with a small pile of snow beginning to form on its fur, while inside the carriage slept Sekai and Aiwa. Tenebrosia, on the other hand, sat on top of the carriage, observing the campfire that crackled. Its fire illuminated the encampment, but not the blinding blizzard outside. The Maiden observed the camp with her eyes, lazily moving. The memories of her own hands bloodied by gore… was that truly her? Tenebrosia does not even know. She doesn't know herself. Suddenly, another ache in her head caused Tenebrosia to cover a portion of her face with one of her gloved palms.
—
Flashes of memories came before her. White and fogged, is this… truth?
"Impressive combination of magic and technology, are you sure this would stop the demons from appearing near Windstrew and its municipalities?" Ragena asked Edward. "Yes, I am well assured this would protect us from the demons." The elderly Director rubbed his beard, observing the pulsing capsule at the heart of the golden laboratory deep beneath the academy of the Conjuration Parliament. Tenebrosia was alongside the newly elected Director of the Sombre Arts, Ragena, observing the vast technology around the room of technology. "The mana that flows through here gets pumped into an artificial form of lumen magic, attracting the presence of the angels to gather around the capital alongside its other settlements to protect it from the presence of the demons," the elderly Edward spoke, still stroking his beard as he held his staff.
"To these ends, we've ensured that if the Veil between our three worlds were weakened, the demons of Hades would not enter Windstrew's lands nor its municipalities." The elderly Cardinal continued to converse with Ragena. "Back in the nation of Eradicia, such advancement would almost be alien to us." The Director of the Sombre Arts spoke. "If such vast quantities of mana like these, do you think someone could reap all of this for themselves?" Ragena asked with calm composure, and Edward did not give a straight reply. A pause, and then, he spoke. "That is incredibly rare for someone to hold such a vast amount of magic, even for us wielders of the elements. But… we are aware it is a possibility of a threat." The Cardinal spoke before tapping his staff. "We should leave our scholars be to their work, my friends," Edward spoke, before turning around and leading the way.
"I appreciate your efforts for showing us around such a massive facility, Ser Edward," Ragena spoke as Tenebrosia followed the adults. "The little one was eager to come to see what creations this facility stores. She is an appreciator of Galamonian technology," Ragena continued. "No matter how embarrassed she is to say it," the Director teased, causing Tenebrosia to snort quietly. "Do not mention it, my friend," replied the ever-kind Cardinal. "You, too, should know how we work around here now that you're Director." "Ah, yes," simply affirmed by Ragena.
As Edward was leading the way, a taller Cardinal appeared in the grand halls of the underground facility. "Ah, Moy'r, what brings you here?" Spoke the elderly Edward. "Oh, you two, you should go back up to the Parliament's main floor. I will meet you shortly," Edward smiled at them before conversing back with Moy'r. Tenebrosia tugged on the taller Ragena's dress while the two walked away. "I heard… what happened to Sister Taralon a week ago…" whispered timidly by Tenebrosia. "I suppose so," Ragena wasn't even surprised as the two entered the elevator, powered by steam. "How did–" "My dear, I know you are smart and beginning to be a bit… cunning." Ragena cut Tenebrosia's words. "But, please… leave the matters to the adults, alright? I'll find a way to get her back." She smiled softly at the shorter Tenebrosia.
The vision got blurry once more. Was her truth– her fogged history, beginning to clear up?
Another vision of memories came to the Maiden's senses. "What does it feel like being a Champion of our clan?" A young boy by the name of Maitu sat near the young adolescent Tenebrosia, who was observing the stars as supper was being prepared by the older Maidens. "It is nothing that much, truly," Tenebrosia spoke as she looked below the garden of the manor they were staying in. "Nothing much?" Maitu exclaimed. "You are the best out of all of us kiddiewinks! There has to be something that makes you different!" Maitu began pondering, walking in circles while deep in childish, imaginative thoughts. "I know!" The little boy raised a finger to the air, "You'll be our savior one day! Whenever there's trouble without the adults, you'd be our hero!" Maitu began prancing around and clapping his hands.
His movements stopped, as another vision of the past unfolded, a while ago, before Ragena was Director.
A younger Tenebrosia was trapped within a magical grasp. Somewhere in the woods, led somewhere by an unknown figure, as the memories began going from foggy to clearer. "Oh, sweet child." That female voice again. It's warped yet so familiar. "The vessel of her is yours, and yours only." The feminine figure stood in the dark, conjuring the grasp that so tightly held the girl trapped within the magical hold. "Don't you understand? You're perfect for a dawn where we are rulers! Feared! Don't be so afraid now… we share the very same thing; we are the vessels of a god." The woman continued to speak, Tenebrosia struggling with futility. "Don't you want to live in a world where you are treated like the other children? Like any ordinary person?"
Another broken memory twisted the current one. A forgotten one locked in the depths of the Maiden's mind.
"What have I done?" The eyes of Tenebrosia in her years of being a young adult saw her own hands: bloodied. "Tenebrosia…" the voice of a woman spoke, dying and weak. A stab wound was seen at the center of her chest. Her voice was familiar, yet different from the ominous female voice that haunted the Maiden. The young Tenebrosia looked at the face of the woman, and it was covered by a fog. Something is trying to prevent her from revealing the truth, as if the Maiden's mind could not comprehend this truth. Or, a truth that harbored trauma that the mind refused to remember again. Suddenly, the laugh of the female voice that haunted Tenebrosia was heard again. Her voice ridiculed the helplessness the young Tenebrosia felt, as if she deserved this. "Yes! You're growing violent!" She laughed and continued so maniacally, with sadism laced within each breath she used for joy. "Oh, you made my objective so much easier, my little witch! How wonderful!" The voice continued to laugh; it continued to ridicule. The source of the voice– the female figure stood in the darkness. "The power of a god is in our hands now!"
"No!" The echoes of Tenebrosia retaliated, with her bloodied right palm pointing at the mysterious female who stood in the darkness. A flash of power was exerted from the young Maiden's palm that blasted the figure in the darkness. A wail was heard from the female figure as an explosion was seen after Tenebrosia's magic successfully landed right on the figure. The sounds of destruction were heard: trees swayed violently while others fell, rocks cracked, and the earth itself trembled. Nothing but smoke, fire, and dust could Tenebrosia see in front of her. Weakened by the amount of power required to exert such force, the young Maiden collapsed into a deep coma.
—
Back in the present, Tenebrosia sparked awake. Fear ran down her spine for the first time in a long while. What could have possibly driven her to do this? "I'm not a…" Tenebrosia tried to reassure herself that she's not a criminal. The Maiden grasped the right side of her face, questioning her entire reality. Her identity. Her breathing was deep, and Tenebrosia felt lightheaded and weak. "By the gods." The Maiden shook her head and simply cursed internally, snapping away the fear and anxiety that consumed her being. "Be weak, and everyone dies," she muttered.
Tenebrosia noticed the blizzard beyond the gargantuan trees that hid the encampment had moved away from the path. Seizing this moment, the Maiden jumped from the carriage and whistled, waking up all her companions. Sekai woke up alongside Aiwa; the Dunwaku squeaking as the Padomas boy stood up and stretched. Amma, on the other hand, lumbered himself slowly with soft and deep rumbling. The Mayuno swayed back and forth, shaking all of the snow that piled on the gentle beast. "Miss?" Sekai asked with a groggy voice, yawning from his sleep. "We're continuing the journey while the blizzard isn't here, little one," Tenebrosia replied as she stood there, her back facing them.
…
The journey was continued; the carriage rolled through the gravel path, nearing the destination of the Summits. Tenebrosia once more stood at the top of the carriage while Sekai and Aiwa continued to slumber within the bogie. Amma pulled the vehicle through the snowy terrains of the Graupelwind Plains, with the smallest stones beneath making the bogie rattle a bit. The view ahead was blocked by the cold fog that this frozen domain conjures. The winds carried snow and a lingering sense of dread to the Maiden. The lantern's magical state within the carriage continued to melt the snow around the vehicle, making it easier for the Mayuno to charge further and deeper through the Plains.
Tenebrosia now sat, still deep in thought and continuing to piece together everything of what truly happened in the past. She continued to ponder, arguing with her inner self about whether what she remembered was real. Tenebrosia then looked at the brooch at her chest; the same medallion Ragena gave her when she was titled as a Champion. The Maiden continued to observe it. "Damn it. Nothing." Tenebrosia cursed under her breath, remembering nothing of note about something that is attached to both her and Ragena. The Maiden sighed and placed the medallion right back on her chest. "There's no turning back. What happens… happens." Tenebrosia squinted her eyes and sighed. The group is getting closer and closer to its destination.