Episode 3: Stop, I Beg of You (9)

 ⋉◆⌌ Astraea’s POV⌍▫◆⋊.

These were the dreams of the gone past.

A time set in the future when the Empire fell and nations fell into darkness. The blight had spread to the very far reaches of the continent. The Municipality of Caitlet being one of the last few regions still standing, too many had already lost their lives in this battle.

Stygian soot that encroached ivory white frozen fields extending as far as the horizon line. My Snowflakes Spirit army sent into a tousle with Blight Wraiths that swarmed endlessly.

<Frostborne Origin: Wrath>

The catalysing magic orb upon my World Tree Sceptre pulsated undulating as I waved it in front of. 

Titan sized glaciers rose from the ground, burgeoning forward with the force of a tsunami. Thorn obelisks in the hundred of thousand pierced the incorporeal spirit bodies of the Blight Wraths.

Leaving in the path’s wake a blossoming field of puritan white flowers.

Wyverns rose from the horizon. Their scowling shriek pierced my ear.

I was about to cast the eighth-tier spell <Blue Orion> when a silhouette moved in front of me.

<Savaging Sword Aura>.

Harsh shadow-red ink drew lines against the skies. In its wake a thick bloodlust spread through the battlefield. The wyverns' wings burst open as the sword trails faded. 

Their corrosive blood spattered like an explosion of fireworks, then very quickly freezing up as it came into contact with the frost barrier.

“That was unnecessary,” I appreciated the help, but I could’ve defended against that myself. 

“Conserve your energy to destroy the mother bulb.” He remarked simply. 

A tattered black trench coat draped over his broad figure, its shredded hem wailing in the wind like the flutter of the national flag. His corrosive purple eyes glinted a murky red, steadily focused in the direction of our next target. Blood could be seen trickling down his lips, his ivory canines peaking out with a wild grin.

He glanced at me once, then disappeared into a dark-red mist.

“Damn it. I told you not to do that without my permission.” I cursed. 

Slamming my sceptre against the ground, another ripple of frost spready from beneath my feet, creating a giant floe on solid ground. 

I winced, feeling the pain of blight corroding the ice all around me. It seemed that even Glenn’s new anti-blight formula wasn’t completely immune.

With the price paid in pain. I paved a way for his safe advance, protecting him from the blight that rose from underneath the ground.

That man was Drew Raven. Forced into accepting his vampire bloodline lineage to draw out his latent destructive abilities, there was a price to be paid in compensation. 

Blood. 

My blood of course.

Pushing forward with my mechanical right leg, I rubbed my neck where he left his bite.

I almost didn’t even feel it.

⌌✧ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ✧⌍

The blight had spread beyond the borders. Most of the continent had fallen, only the southern regions remained.

From hereon, there were only two options left to take. Evacuate out into sea with dismal hope to find new land to settle, or we fight till our deaths.

In the months prior, Glenn had formulated a recipe, both alchemical and celestially a method to reverse the effects of blight at scale. There was now hope to reclaim land that we had lost.

However, before we can properly take advantage of this new method, we had to ensure blight does not reenter the land which had been reclaimed. 

Hence the preliminary requirement of exterminating the <Blightborne Mother Bulbs> to slow down the spread. 

Mother bulbs were like seeds which the blight spread from. Take out these nodes and it would require another nest from somewhere further away to corrupt the same patch of land again. The further the distance, the slower the spread.

With so little time and so much ground to cover, Glenn and I had been split into two teams. Glenn himself would lead the last troops of holy knights with Soren into the western front while Drew and I took on the eastern side. 

Glenn would use his magic to subjugate the Motherbulbs, and purify the land there first before coming over to our side to work out the rest. 

Putting it like that sounded simple. The reality of the matter was beyond bad.

Notice how few names were stated? That was because only transcendents could fight in the blight. And the number of transcendents left alive could be counted on one hand. 

Even if we were to bring an army, the impact a thousand skilled fighters could have on the battlefield amounted to less than what the fewer than twenty of us could muster.

“Astraea!!”

It was a suicide mission.

As I watched the skies spin and blood pour on my side, the man who took the hit for me jerked my attention awake.

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Crucified by the pseudopodia, he had created an opening. 

I watched as he tore open the annihilation scroll, disappearing alongside the Motherbulb. Tears rolled down my cheeks. 

We had successfully subjugated the last of them in this pocket of a region.

… But the price for this small victory had cost too much. 

⌌✧ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ✧⌍

The right portion of my abdomen gouged out, cauterised to stop the bleed. But with the still-spreading blight, the air entering my lungs was piercing hot. I was feverish, hardly able to think straight.

I had run out of the potions Glenn had made. The effect of the previous one was wearing off. 

… This is where it ends. 

It was a long trek back to the municipality.

While the Motherbulbs had been destroyed, the outside was still rampant with monsters that still roam the blight filled land. Resting in a shallow cave alone, all I could do now was wait for my time to end.

I looked at the decrepit fireplace, recalling the last meal I had with Drew. 

He said he wasn’t hungry. What a liar. Drinking my blood in the middle of battle without saying anything. The place his lips brushed over—the upper region of my left clavicle—the mark his fangs left on me still burned.

“Of all times, why did you have to die now?” Tears flowed.

The searing pain which coursed through my body was nothing compared to the pain I felt deep down in my heart.

How long will this battle go on for? 

How many more people are going to sacrifice themself for the futile future? 

Was there any hope to reclaim what is lost?

Where did it all start and when would this end?

Wasn’t there nary hope to reclaim from this war in the first place?

Unable to rationalise how things came to this point, Lowe’s bubbly face came to surface. 

That cheerful girl who was supposed to bring light to the world, killed by the man who I thought shouldn’t have had any more involvement in the story.

I faulted him for what had happened to the world. Even though deep down I knew this all could’ve been avoided if only I hadn’t ignored her. It was my fault for taking away her spotlight. When I could’ve shared some of my attention with her… I didn’t.

And then it was too late. 

Their deaths were my fault. All of it.

Changing the providence of the original story, there was bound to be dire consequences. Who would’ve thought something I thought to be inconsequential would lead to this horrible, horrible disaster?

I blinked, and then looked at the last potion held loosely in my hand.

It was the cure to the blight spreading in my body. The alchemic recipe Glenn had prepared in case any of us became encroached. 

I felt the texture cork on the top with my bleeding finger. The protective seal coating the flask. All I needed to do was to break it, and swallow down the elixir within.

It may not guarantee full recovery, but I would be able to live on a little longer. 

But was there any point to this? Was there a reason to continue on with this fight? Was there hope left? Could I even continue? 

It hurts so much. This feeling of despair, this hopelessness. I can't live like this anymore. I just can’t. I would rather die than to suffer this.

… I closed my eyes, sinking deeper and deeper into this… abysmal pain.

I’m sorry for everything. Drew, Isodor, Soren, Glenn, Elysia, Lowe, mom, dad…

I was tired.

I had enough.

I wanted it to be over.

Everything will be over once I…

“Hey.” A whisper. I felt the cold lip of the potion bottle meet my lips. “Drink up.”

Reflexively, I moved my throat, guzzling down the liquid bit by bit. Slightly, I opened my eyes.

There in front of me was a robbed man. Fringes of onyx black hair peeked out from under the shadowy facade of his face.

“Drew?” I reached out to him, my sight still hazy. 

He didn’t speak. Bandages were everywhere, soaked in stains of blood in large blots and streaks, not a part of his skin was uncovered. He turned his back to me and made me lean on him. 

“Drew… you should’ve told me…” You should’ve told me that you were alive. 

He carried me up. I entrusted my body to him. The feeling of his back felt familiar, as if she had only recently rode on it…

“Say something…” I cried, tightening my grip around his neck. “Drew…”

We reached the entrance of the cave. The open skies revealed themselves to us, a red firmament enveloped in black swirling clouds. He never said a word, we continued towards the direction of the city.

The fatigue struck me all at once. I struggled to keep my eyes open, desperately, wanting him to tell me the truth of what happened.

And then… 

I blinked. 

The white sheets of the bed canopy came into sight. Light poured through the window, casting a soft, golden glow over my face. I realised then that it had all been a dream. I woke up.

Stretching my arms, I felt the stiffness of my neck. I looked at the back of my hands, my nails under the passing light.

“It was a dream.” I muttered, touching the tears that were present in the edge of my eyes.

After I had returned to the city, Drew never showed himself again. I assumed that he hadn’t died, that the person who brought me back to safety was him, but… 

I remember it clearly. He had definitely died back then. 

So who was it that saved me?

“Y-Your Grace?” Reene’s voice rang out from the side. I turned to her.

“Reene?” I saw her in tears, stunned-relieved.

“Her Grace is alive!!” Reene rushed out of my room.

I was confused. It took me a little while to realise what had just happened.

It wasn’t long before a female doctor entered the room to assess my condition. My parents too arrived just as the doctor finished confirming that everything was alright with my body.

Reene was crying. And behind her stood Elysia who I could tell was relieved.

“Thank the heavens.” My mother, Aria Winterfall couldn’t resist hugging me tight, as usual. She was sniffling, but I could tell she wasn’t crying.

“I’m alright mom…” I tried consoling her by stroking her back. I looked at father who stood silently, deep in thought. Seeing him like that, I tried recalling the incidents which had led up till this point if he planned to ask.

However, I realised that there was a big hole in the series of events which came right after I passed out. 

I was ambushed by Kairen’s cronies, let my guard down and failed to protect myself. 

Things should’ve proceeded with me being held hostage, referencing from the original setting which Lowe was supposed to go through. So there was only one possibility to why I was still here and alive. 

“Father… who saved me?” I asked. 

His expression soured, a remorseful expression on his face. I could feel my mother’s arms tighten around me. He slowly began speaking in fragments. 

“That man. Kairen Copper, died saving you.”

Reene suddenly stopped crying, she looked at my father in shock. 

“Huh?” 

As for myself, I… don’t understand what was going on anymore.