My Wonderful Second Life

Chapter 78- A Golden Prayer

They would be too absorbed to pay attention to anything else. Unless they were an aberration of nature like Emmanuel, who had explained to me all of this while doing a blessing circle himself. It was one of the few times I ever listened to him fully.

Sometimes it pays off to listen to Emmanuel's lectures.

I had two paths: trying to see if I could make one of them get distracted- which was harder from inside the circle they control- or buying some time, inside, with a crazed woman.

Bearing a smile, I got up and faced the Empress. I had chosen the crazy path.

"You interrupted me right when I was about to take the essence." said the Empress, frowning.

Essence? Something close to bile formed in my mouth. My eyes moved from Cedric to the children, outside the circle in a far corner, closer to the throne. They were lifeless and grouped together, their eyes of a milky colour. Then the bile turned real and my stomach revolted. But I held on. The crazy could not win.

"My scarlet." Continued the Empress, this time turning her golden eyes to Cedric, who remained motionless.

I drifted close to the bullets, taking some while the empress was distracted. Through my clenched teeth, as the pain washed over me, I said, "You are damn crazy."

But while the pain was almost blinding to me, it seemed to not affect the Empress, who shrugged at my comment. "I may very well be."

It is not a maybe... It is a 100% certainty, you crazy bitch.

She circled her way through the room, the veins in her arm red from touching that cruel syringe.

"It won't be yours." She said. "You won't take them from me again, Florence."

The woman was beyond reason. Before she launched herself at me, I threw some of the bullets I gathered. They pushed her off course, but her craziness was a shield of sorts. One, fortunately, or unfortunately, I did not have.

I moved the opposite way, past Cedric, hoping she would follow.

Venom poured into her voice as she regained her footing. "You took everything from me. His beauty. His love."

Her hair was all over the place, making it impossible for me to see much of her face. "It is because of you I ended up in this place. A prisoner and a failure."

Those whispered words of hers made me stop. They were oddly familiar. Oddly striking. And then I remembered her. My other me. The Lucreatia Mountnero that had married Cedric. Imprisoned in her own castle, growing crazier with time. The strange realization took my breath away. Both the Empress and Lucreatia were more similar than I would have liked to admit.

In my distraction, the Empress stopped following me. Instead, she stood some feet away from the young prince; her face was now visible, marred in pain and torture. A pain that did not come from her charred hands, but ran deep. Just like her hatred of Florence.

Cedric began to stir and awake. The empress watched as if enthralled. Panic rushed through me while my nightmare came into reality. As the words Cedric spewed in hatred rang in my ears.

"You Sun people, I loathe you. All of you."

I threw the remaining bullets at the Empress and ran to Cedric's side, whose eyes were opening. Without time to waste, I shook him, looking into the scarlet that came from the gods and told him, softly, my promise. "Do not forget Cedric, no matter what happens, it was a sun person who helped you. Never forget."

His eyes, still foggy, seemed to have registered me and my words, but before he could say or do anything, a voice came from behind.

"You are always in my way, Florence."

I turned just in time to dodge the syringe, and it made the Empress even madder. "Let him come to me. Let me have him." She hissed right before she attacked again.

I caught the syringe in my hands; the pain blinding me. A pain, a thousand times worse than my small bullets. From behind, I could hear the rattling of chains and my name in Cedric's voice. Below the strangled call, I heard the prayers from the priests still echoing like an ominous song.

Pray.

In my agony, a memory I had no recollection started to creep in. It was just a voice, although I knew exactly when it had happened. Just a rushed and worried voice when my mind had blackened out in a similar pain. It was Jenni who begged me.

"Pray Lulu. Let the Light come."

Then everything became clear. An alchemy object was still magic. And the only way to end it was with a blessing. The blessing circle was working, but not fast enough. It needed a push. Anything to stop this craziness. There was no other path forward.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on a prayer that I had never learned, yet, strangely, I could hear it now at the back of my head, in Emmanuel's voice. Although his voice started to morph into that of a woman. One ancient and powerful.

Goddess, help me,

Show me the strong and righteous light

Cure the ailing and innocent

Punish those who wronged me,

As your daughter, I plead you thee

Give your judgment

Under the eternal light

Undying and powerful,

I pray to you.

Then there was only light—a sun on earth.

I AM BACK! Again XD

Sorry ( I know you are tired of it but it is true)!! Life got in the way. Actually, my will also got in the way.

I love this story but I am also trying to write a more "conventional" one since I really would like to publish someday. Not sure if you would like to see it (but I can maybe share some snips to those super interested).

Unfortunately, I have been super busy at home and work so I have very little time to do writing at the pace and level I want.

I am trying slowly to get back so please bear with me. I am not giving up, I am just going a little slower (although hoping to pick up again at a faster pace sooner).

PS: By the way do you know which moment was Lulu remembering about Jenni??