Duality Striker (Serial 2)

Chapter 3 :: Mathilde Ylfing

My vision shifts away from seeing the world through the soldier's eyes. Now it seems I'm standing near her by her side as she collapses. Her back against the muddy ground. Her limbs splayed and the rain pouring over her tired body. A frown paints her face with grinding teeth.

"Fuck!" she says, her voice weak and desperate. "Why do you have to leave me, Arizona? I can't believe you'd just disappear like that." She turns her head to the side, wondering if my sister is still there. Unfortunately for her, she has returned to this waking realm.

I say to the soldier with urgency, "What wrong? Get up!"

Her eyes open and finds my presence. "It's you! The spirit."

"Spirit? Is that what I look like to you?"

"I mean, you're some kind of ghost, I think."

I place my hands in front of me. There's a faint glow, but not significant. Though I seem to look translucent. My vision still pierces through my hands, as I can still see the tired soldier on the ground.

I reach for the woman, motioning her. "Can you grab my hand?"

She takes a moment, assessing the situation, looking hesitant. Then she reaches for my hand and latches on to my wrists. A certain coldness flows through my arm. Dark energy perhaps? Maybe it's from the Nightmares she's been fighting. Its residual energy living inside her gauntlets.

I say, "Your hands feel like the surrounding shadows."

With the leverage from my arm, she lifts herself from the ground. Her shoulders slouch and her arms relax, but her attention remains sharp on me. She says, "I have a Runic Drive Module in my gauntlets. I can use it to siphon aether around me and allow it to augment my attacks, often with dark energy."

"Ah, so that's why your hands are cold."

Mathilde Wairen smiles. "It's funny because the first thing that strange woman with the dirty coat asked was about my uniform. Wanna know my secret?"

"I'm good at keeping secrets," I say, though I'm sure Mezos and Samza are listening in on this conversation using their devices.

"I allow the aether to manipulate my body temperature so I can handle harsh environments. In other words, I never feel too hot or cold wearing this uniform, despite what most people think. In fact, I feel very comfortable. It allows me to be flexible and mobile when in battle."

There's no reason for me to be surprised. After all, aether allows for one to possess supernatural abilities. For example, CrystalCorp's new CEO, Octavia Cerayle, manipulates aether to her advantages. She can use it to levitate, create force fields, and cast holy magic. She even combines aether with her company's cybernetics. If aether allows Mathilde Wairen to wear a leotard into battle, then more power to her.

I hear a second voice. It sounds like an older woman, maybe in her late 20s or early 30s. It's calling the name: "Mathilde sae Wairen." Her voice reverberates through the war-torn wastelands like a ghost looking for a sign of the living.

"Do you hear that?" I ask the soldier.

"I do," she says as a smile forms on her face. "It sounds like my mate, Celes. Though it can't be her. She died when The Usurper's forces overwhelmed the village of Belaya Derevnya and took over Castrum Tormenti Spiculum."

Castrum. I assume that's another word for base, camp, or hideout. A duty station for her battalion. I ask, "And where is Belaya Derevnya?"

"About 40 mallums southwest of the Figarosa Imperial Palace."

Mallums. A unit measure that I don't understand. I'll have to ask Mezos what it is equivalent to.