Slayers: Alive

Slayers: Alive 38

Slayers: Alive

Episode 106: Cycle! Worse Comes To Worst

"A girl who has justice on her side..." Amelia's voice was carried all over the deck of the party cruise, with the use of a cute little wand that amplified sound waves.

Blocking out the annoying song, Zelas looked at Celo as if silently telling him to follow her. He did, swiftly excusing himself politely from his previous conversation, and following his master below deck. Once they were away from prying eyes and ears, Zelas voiced a simple, yet meaningful request, "report."

Celo's relaxed expression turned serious as he went over the most important aspects that he had to inform. "The research team has reported that there were indeed magical traces in the area where Onyx recovered her elf form. Thankfully, the underground structures were magically enforced so, despite suffering considerable damage due to the recent earthquake, the cave-ins were not sufficient to halt the studies. It seems there was something sealed in her, possibly the reason why her power was so great when she was initially an elf. A seal was placed on her that turned her human and locked that something even deeper, unable to manifest its power."

Celo continued, "the thing sealed in her must have been very powerful to leave such a clear energy signature behind in the astral space near that area. The theory about the power being drained to make Onyx recover her elf form was mistaken. She recovered because the seal that made her human was broken, not only that, but also the seal that held that power inside her was also broken. We have concluded that the spell that the Lord of Nightmares placed in her was actually magic to weaken those seals. When Onyx found herself close to death, the reaction sped up the process of breaking the seals. She is a normal elf now; the thing that was previously sealed in her since birth is gone."

"That thing is..." Zelas questioned, pointing out with her inquiring expression that she did not like the fact that the vital piece of information was still missing.

"My apologies, lord Beast Master," Celo lowered his head apologetically. "We do not know what it was, though it was similar yet opposite to the energy of the Lord of Nightmares, perhaps related to the Stillness, possibly the Void."

"Ah yes, the prophecy written by that dragon," Zelas recalled. A dragon had been on a journey some distance away from Milgazia's main group. That dragon was being tracked by monsters without his knowledge. He received a vision that he wrote on a scroll, but that scroll was never seen by the other dragons. Its author soon became a victim to the monsters and later the main ingredient of Zelas' delectable dragon cuisine. "The prophecy theorized that the Lord of Lamentation, the Void and the End aside from being alternate names for the Stillness that the Lord of Nightmares rejected, are also the names of the three pieces that the Stillness was broken into. The dragon saw them as entities similar to Darkstar, which was a mistaken interpretation. I'm under the impression that the one that is known as the Green Alchemist is the Lord of Lamentation. That being uses trickery manipulating people and their weaknesses, their lamentations."

"Yes," Celo agreed with the theory. "If Onyx's emotionally toned down personality, where she only reacts to extreme situations or particular subjects, is any indication, she was being affected by what was sealed in her, the Void. If our theories are correct, Lamentation is representative of mourning, as opposed to determination. It is to accept things as they come without putting up a fight; it is inaction, a true part of Stillness, the physical part of not doing anything."

"Most likely," Zelas agreed. "The Void would then be the mental part of Stillness, it is the second phase. After action is not taken, the next step of still indifference would be to stop thinking about things. If Lamentation weakens the body with famines and physical harm, then the Void would weaken the mind with apathy and indifference. The last part is the End, the reaper, when the body takes no action and the mind has no thoughts, there is nothing, that being has ceased to exist. Humans are fragile, but if the lowly creatures become extinct, it will be us monsters who will suffer the famine next and become trapped in the same cycle that extinguished human life. I have already decided that I stand for chaos. This world will suffer at my hand for all eternity if it's up to me. I cannot grant it the mercy of dying to become something else, very much less let it die forever."