(3rd Person POV)
Gemma: To the one my heart beats for, Spring, 20th day of March, and the 6th year without you.
Gemma sat inside her room.
No, her prison.
She had once lived free with bandits out in the forests of Anima. After she had been captured, she was taken back to Atlas, forced to live as a pawn in order for her new parents to gain more power.
She turned her attention back to the letter.
Gemma: It's been quite some time now, hasn't it? I wonder if you already forgot the promise you made that day. But, I can still hear the words you cried out before leaving even after all these years.
Gemma looked upwards and to the side, staring out the window to see the sun shining through the clouds.
Gemma: Have you been eating well? I still hope that we'll get to see each other again one day. Though, I think it's too late now. I'm already bound by my duty, and I don't think I can ever face you again like before. If ever we see each other again and you recognize me, please remember that I'm still the same Gemma you knew. However, I don't think you will. Not anymore. But that's fine, it's going to be all right. I'll just buy tons of candy and give it to you so you can finally remember me! Hehe!
Gemma paused for a long while, letting her pen rest, as she looked back up to the clouds. She sighed as she thought back to him.
Gemma: But all of this is just wishful thinking now. Not all love stories have a happy ending after all, and I guess ours will be that way too. I just wish I could touch your face one last time. Even if it's with my eyes closed, that's all right. Or even if I go blind in exchange, that's all fine. I would still agree, just so I could feel you one more time. Just remember that I will always...
She paused one more time, rubbing her eyes so as to keep the tears back.
Gemma: Always love you. I will never forget all the memories we had together. Love, Gemma.
Gemma let her head fall down, her forehead hitting the table, as she ignored everything else, squeezing her eyes shut as tightly as possible.
Gemma: Hey... Will we... ever see each other again...? I... really miss you so much...
Gemma sniffed as she started to cry, unable to hold back the tears as she drifted off into darkness.
Ruby: Edel!
He had been to the Realm of the Demonic. He had gone for thousands of years, but he never had the true experience, to be reborn as one of them, to feel their pain.
For the darkest creatures in Remnant, who had died by his, and the others' hands, the realm of the Demonic, being a creature of the Demonic, had to feel exactly like this.
Endless darkness.
A slow, torturous suffocation.
And pain. So much pain.
Edel's shattered bones made him useless, unable to fight, to pound at the wooden barrier only a breath above his face.
The expanse of time had felt eternal, but there was no way of knowing how long he'd been there. Trapped underground in a small, stifling wooden coffin. Struggling only made it worse. His throat was raw from screaming for someone, anyone, to find this freshly dug grave.
Every time he slipped away into the escape of sleep, he was certain he wouldn't ever wake up again.
Yet he did.
Again and again.
To take his mind off of the horror of being buried alive and utterly helpless, he imagined how he would kill Aloysius. After much consideration, he thought of a torture technique he heard of involving slowly peeling of all the skin sounded quite satisfying.
He had also heard of burying a victim in the ground up to their neck, then covering them with tree syrup and allowing a nest of hungry beetles to consume them slowly.
That would be nice.
Or perhaps Edel would remove Aloysius' hands. Saw them off slowly with a dull knife. Or a spoon.
Yes, a spoon.
The imagined sound of Aloysius' screams helped Edel shift his thoughts from his own situation. But these distractions rarely lasted long.
Edel thought he heard the distant echo of thunder. The only other sound was his own heartbeat - fast at first, but now much slower. And his breath - labored gasping when he'd struggled in the beginning, but now quiet. Shallow.
Edel: I'm going to die.
Aloysius would finally get his vengeance. And such a death he'd chosen for his worst enemy. One in which Edel had plenty of time to think about his life, his choices, his mistakes, his regrets.
Memories of beautiful architecture and landscapes from his times with the first humans.
Of a time when he suffered on his own in the world, when he had no one and was alone, desperately clinging to life.
Of a beautiful golden girl who rightfully despised him. Whose blue-green eyes held only hate for so long that he didn't remember precisely when her gaze had softened.
This girl who didn't push him away when he kissed her. Instead, she kissed him back with a passion that very nearly matched his own.
Edel: Perhaps I'm only fantasizing all of it. I helped to destroy her life. She should celebrate my death.
Still, he allowed himself to fantasize about Lenna.
His light. His hope. His love.
In one fantasy, Edel found her, truly, for the first time, not in a crumbling ruin of a temple and under duress, organized to please the public, but in a meadow filled with beautiful flowering trees and lush green grass, under his own terms.
Edel: Beautiful flowering trees and lush green grass? What irrelevant nonsense fills my mind?
He much preferred the Realm of the Demonic, defending everyone. He didn't care about the humans, only about those with magic, with a higher calling...
Didn't he?
Edel allowed himself to remember her rare smiles, her joyful laugh, and, most amusingly, the sharp way she'd look at him when he constantly said something to annoy her.
He thought about her hair - always a distraction to him when she wore it down, long golden waves over her shoulders and down to her waist. He remembered the silky brush of it during their wedding tour when he'd kissed her, which had happened only because of the cheering crowd's demands - a kiss he'd despised only because he'd liked it so much.
Their next kiss in the villa had struck like a bolt of lightning. It had frightened him, although he'd never admit such a thing out loud. It was the moment he knew that, if he let her, this girl would destroy him.
And then, when he'd found her in that small cottage in the center of a snowstorm, after he'd thought her dead and gone... and he'd realized how much she meant to him.
That kiss hadn't ended nearly as swiftly as the others.
That kiss had marked the end of the life he'd known before and the beginning of another.
But he knew he could not ever have children, due to his differences. If he broke it, the woman would die, and his selfish desires for her had ground to an abrupt halt. He would not risk her life for any reason. And together they would find a way to somehow break the curse.
But Aloysius had been yet another curse cast upon them.
Edel remembered the threats Aloysius had whispered to him while chained up and unable to tear the being apart. Threats of what he would do to Lenna when Edel couldn't protect her.
Dark, nightmarish atrocities that Edel wouldn't wish upon his worst enemy.
He remembered when Aloysius had taken over his body and Lenna had killed him. As he was slowly dying, he convinced her to tell the world that they had broken off before the wedding, that she had not killed him.
He then made a deal with Salem:
She would not interfere with Lenna, and he would not interfere with her. He wouldn't let her power be used, for her to be targeted, and she would be one of the many that had the power but never unlocked it.
When he came back in the schools, he manipulated it so that he was just another student, and during the tournament he stopped fighting early to make sure that he wasn't featured much, just to dissuade her from seeing him, if she was even allowed to her in her prison, although he knew she would never see him, with her being held isolated from the rest of the world by her parents after the incident.
But now he wasn't there to protect her. From Salem, from Aloysius, from Ozma, from Ignatius...
Panic swelled within him as these thoughts brought him back to stark reality. His heart pounded, and he strained to break free of this small, stifling prison deep underground.
Edel: I'm here! I'm down here!
He yelled it over and over till his throat felt as if he'd swallowed a dozen knives, but nothing happened. No one came for him.
Edel: Delay my death, fathers. Let me out of here, and let me kill Aloysius before he harms her. Then you can take my life any way you wish to.
But, just like his yells for help, his prayers went unanswered.
Edel: Damn you!
He slammed his fist against the top of the coffin so hard that a splinter of wood wedged into his skin.
He let out a roar, one filled with pain and frustration and fear.
He'd never felt so helpless. So useless. So incredibly...
Edel: Wait.
He frowned as he ripped the splinter out of his skin with his teeth, whispering into the darkness.
Edel: My arm. What's wrong with my arm?
Actually, it wasn't what was wrong with it. It was what was right with it.
His left arm had been broken at Aloysius' command. He hadn't been able to move more than a little without immediate, crushing pain.
He fisted his left hand, then moved his wrist and arm.
There was no pain.
Edel: Impossible.
He tried again to move his left arm with the same result. And his leg - the sound of the crack it made when broken and the mind-numbing pain that followed was still far too fresh in his mind.
He wiggled his toes inside his boot.
No pain.
A drop of mud squeezed between the narrow slats of the coffin and splashed into his eye. He winced and wiped it away.
The thunder rolled high above him. The sound had been a constant since he'd been buried. If he concentrated, he could hear pain rounding down upon his grave and soaking into the earth covering his coffin.
He pressed both of his hands flat against the wooden barrier above him.
Edel: What am I thinking? That my bones somehow magically healed? I don't have my amulet. I'm hallucinating.
Or was he?
After all, there was a way to keep one another alive and well long after both were supposed to die. It had been used before...
Edel: Impossible.
Another drop of mud oozed onto his face, stunning him further.
Edel pressed his hands against the wooden slats above him that were damp from the rain that had soaked into the earth. His heart lurched at the thought. Damp wood could give easier than dry wood, if he tried hard enough.
Aloysius: I imagine it will be true soon enough. I'll cherish this moment for the rest of my life, my old friend.
Edel: That's what you think.
He made a tight fist and punched upward, succeeding only in slicing his hand with more splinters from the wet wood. He grimaced, made another first, and then punched again.
This would take time.
He imagined that the barrier above him was Aloysius' face.
Edel: Beetles.
He gritted this out as he punched at the wood again.
Edel: I think I'll kill you with hungry, flesh-eating beetles.
Gemma sat in her small, personal kitchen, hands flat together, head tilted down as her eyes were closed.
She leaned forward and blew out the five candles of the small, white cake.
As the flames went out, she giggled to herself, closing her eyes once more.
Gemma: Happy birthday to me.
She paused.
Gemma: Mom.
As people talked nervously, walking through the giant portals that had suddenly appeared in front of them, directed to by the huntsmen, Gemma realized something.
Gemma: That's right... Today is my birthday...
Gemma looked around as they neared closer and closer to the portal.
Gemma: And also mom's...
She thought back to when she was younger, when she had only been on the planet for five years.
Gemma: Hehe!
Gemma giggled as she danced around, showing off her dress. It was brown in color, with a white blouse, holding a teddy bear under her arm.
Gemma: Say, mom? Do I look like a princess?
Monika: Mhm... It looks good on you Gem.
Monika held her arms open, as Gemma ran towards her, the two hugging each other fiercely. Gemma giggled as Monika put Gemma in her lap.
Monika: So... you want to be a princess, huh? But they say that you need a prince in order to become a real princess, you know?
Gemma: A prince?
Monika: Yes, Gem. A prince. A prince that will love you no matter who you are, and will always be there for you if and when you're in danger.
Gemma: Hmm... Does it have to be a boy?
Monika: It would be another princess if it were a girl, would it not?
Gemma looked down at her teddy bear, lost in thought for a few moments.
Gemma: But I don't need one! You should be my prince instead!
Gemma looked up at Monika, with the most adorable expression, Monika feeling her heart melt all over again.
Gemma: You love me and are always here for me. You always take care of me when I'm sick. And your food is always yummy. And... um...
Monika: My, my. You're such a sweet little girl. Of course, I will always be here for you. Even on the day you marry your prince, we will still be together.
Gemma: Forever?
Monika: Yes, Gem... Forever.
Gemma giggled, as she looked up to her mom.
Monika: Anyways, you cute little girl...
Gemma: Hmm?
Monika: We should go and prepare our dinner so we can get you ready for your first day of school tomorrow. Aren't you excited?
Gemma: Eh... I'll be away from mom, so no. Not really...
Monika: I'm pretty sure the teachers will allow me to stay nearby, so don't worry, all right?
Gemma: Hmm... Okay then!
Monika: That's my little girl! Come, let's go make our dinner.
Gemma tapped her finger on the table as she waited. After a while, she looked up to see her mom in the kitchen.
Gemma: Mom?
Monika: Hmm? Yes, Gem?
Gemma: Can I watch? I want to learn how to cook too!
Monika: Of course, you can. Come here, come here!
Gemma stood up from her seat, running to the kitchen as she slid across the floor, stopping before her mom.
Gemma: Wha...
Monika: But just watch, okay? You can't touch anything or hold a knife yet.
Gemma looked up at her mom, slightly sadder than before.
Gemma: Eh? Why...?
Monika: It's because you're still too young. Your hands are too small for the knife, still, as sharp things like knives are dangerous to you.
Gemma: Hmm... But I want to learn! I want to learn!
Monika: Now, now... You can start learning once you grow a little bit more, all right? I will definitely teach you.
Gemma pouted, mumbling to herself, as she grabbed onto Monika's dress.
Gemma: Mom? Why do you always wear this outfit when you cook?
Monika: Ahh... This is what I usually wear when I'm working with Mrs. Branwen. I always feel better whenever I wear this while cooking. It's the secret of why my food is always tasty, you know?
Gemma: Ooh... I see now! But... who's Mrs. Branwen?
Monika: Oh, I haven't told you before, have I? I work for her and her... friends.
Gemma: Hmm... So when will you go back to work?
Monika: I'm not too sure, sweetheart. She hasn't said anything about it. She still provides everything to us. I honestly can't thank her enough for all of this.
Gemma: Wow... So Mrs. Branwen is a really good person then?
Monika: Yes. She is one of the best I know.
Gemma: I knew it! What does she look like?
Monika: Umm... She looks... scary...
Gemma: Scary?
Monika: Well, she has black hair, and red eyes, but she's always scowling.
Gemma: So she always is mad?
Monika: It seems like it, sweetheart.
Gemma: You mean, like this?
Gemma adopted a scowl on her face, although it seemed much more like a mix between a scowl and a grin, as she paraded around the kitchen.
Monika: Exactly like that!
Gemma giggled as she danced around.
Monika: Honestly, she's so quick to catch on to things. It's quite normal for kids to absorb a lot of information at this age, but she's different from the others. She talks pretty fluently now, unlike other kids out there that still have trouble communicating. And she can comprehend a wide range of topics very easily too. But I won't know for sure until she starts studying for real and meets other kids around her age.
Gemma: I want to meet her, I want to meet her!
Monika reached out, and rubbed the top of Gem's head.
Monika: Don't worry sweetheart. I can't say for sure because she's a very busy person, but I'm sure she will visit us one of these days.
Gemma: I can't wait!
Gemma giggled as she said that.
Monika: For now, why don't you go back to your seat? The food is almost ready.
Gemma: Okay!
Gemma left the kitchen just as quickly as she had arrived.
Monika: Now, I'll just have to cut this and...
Monika stopped, raising her hand to her head.
Monika: Ngk!
She closed her eyes tightly together, as she reached up to her neck, pulling the collar away. Her head fell down, as she started panting, her breath quickening.
She opened her eyes once more, looking down at the table, sighing.
It lasted only a month before Monika was called by the teacher to meet with her before school.
Monika: As always, thank you for looking out for my daughter while she's here, Mrs. Peters.
Mrs. Peters: No worries. I know it's my job, but it's also my passion to guide all these lovely children towards the right path...
The two of them looked down at Gemma as she worked on her homework.
Mrs. Peters: However, I can't help but still be slightly concerned about her.
Monika: Why? Is there any problem with her?
Mrs. Peters: It's been a month since I started teaching these kids. But she's different from the rest of them. She's extremely smart and way more mature than others her age. I did ask her a couple of trick questions, to try and test my theory. I was certain the other kids would be unable to answer them, but Gemma? She quickly answered without hesitation. Kids her age have this habit of usually taking a second or two to think before answering something. But she's not like that. It's fair to assume that she's as bright as a normal eight or nine year old.
Mrs. Peters then turned to look back at Monika.
Mrs. Peters: Have you noticed that at all before? Was she at least showing some signs?
Monika: I did... At age three, she started to learn how to hold a pencil. Then, when she reached four years old, she already knew how to hold one properly. Seeing this, I tried to teach her how to memorize the alphabet and how to write her own name too. I was flabbergasted to see her master all this in a matter of weeks.
Monika then looked away from Mrs. Peters, and to her beautiful daughter.
Monika: And when she reached five, she could already talk to me fluently, without stuttering. She could comprehend things easily just by watching them happen. That's when I knew she wasn't like the other kids her age. I then decided to stop talking to her in 'baby talk' and started talking to her maturely. Is...
Monika's voice caught.
Monika: Is... It a bad thing for her?
Mrs. Peters: No, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. But the way she thinks and acts is unlike any other kid here. This makes it hard for her to properly socialize with them. At this age, children need to socialize and learn from each other. This is also the age when they start having friends to play with. With Gemma's situation, I'm afraid that she might shy away from them or the other way around.
Mrs. Peters, noticing the saddening look on Monika's face, tried to reassure her.
Mrs. Peters: But don't worry. With that in mind, I'll try my best to help her however I can.
Monika: Thank you, Mrs. Peters.
Mrs. Peters: I'm also thinking of making a request to move her a few grades up, for the next school year. With her intelligence, I'm sure she can compete with higher grade students without any problems.
Monika: Please do. If it's beneficial to her, I won't have any complaints with it.
Mrs. Peters: That's good to know. Although, I'll still need to observe her some more and see what she is really capable of.
Monika: You have my gratitude. I'll leave her in your care for now. I'll come back to get her at the end of the school day.
Monika then knelt down next to Gemma, rubbing her back.
Monika: I'll be back later to fetch you, all right? I'll just go to the supermarket to buy something for us to eat later.
Gemma: Don't be late, okay?
Monika: Don't worry, sweetheart. Please don't give Mrs. Peters a hard time.
Gemma giggled as she looked up at her mom.
Gemma: Gemma will be a good girl as always.
Monika: That's my little Gem.
Monika kissed Gemma's forehead, who giggled in response.
She then stood up, looking at Mrs. Peters.
Monika: I'll see you later.
Mrs. Peters: Mhm. Please take care.
Monika exited the store, holding the bags in her hands.
Monika: Okay... This should be enough food. Lucky me, I also had a small discount on some items too... I really am a cheapskate.
She sighed, looking into her bags one more time.
Monika: I think I'll cook Gem's favorite tonight. She's doing really well in school, but I don't have the money to buy her toys, so at least... this is the best I can gi...
The bag dropped from her hand, as her hands once more automatically went to her neck, clenching.
Monika: Gah!
Monika huffed, as she shook her head.
Monika: This isn't normal... I should go and see a doctor. These sudden pains in my chest are happening too often now... I should ask Mrs. Branwen for her assistance. I'm sure she'll help me.
Two weeks later, Monika was sitting at the table, writing a letter. Gemma sat in her lap, looking down at it.
Gemma: Mom, what is that?
Monika: Hmm? I'm writing a letter, sweetheart.
Gemma: A letter? For whom? Don't we have scrolls now?
Monika: We do. But I'm writing this for myself. It has become such a habit of mine that I'm doing it almost every night.
Gemma looked up at her mom.
Gemma: Hmm? But what for? Why are you writing for yourself? I mean dad is gone now. So it can't be for him either.
Monika: Oh, my... I can't believe that she's just five years old with the way she talks.
Monika sighed, looking down at her little girl.
Monika: Listen, my little Gem... Someday, if you can't express what you want to say through words, write a letter just like this. You can say anything you want in a letter. Express your feelings, tell it your problems, anything you want. It's like your friend. You probably don't understand what I am trying to say right now, but one day, you will.
Gemma's expression quickly changed to one of a smile.
Gemma: Really? Can I try?
Monika: Of course sweetheart! Just look how I wrote things here... and there.
Monika pointed to the letter as she said this.
Gemma: Okay!
Monika rested her eyes, but a few moments later, she was interrupted once more.
Gemma: There! I'm done!
Monika: Really?
Gemma: Yep! Read it mom, it's about you!
Monika: All right, let me see...
Monika took the letter from Gemma's hands.
Monika: What could she have written at her age?
Monika turned her attention to the letter, reading it.
Monika: Dear God, I think my mom is great! I love you, mom! She's really nice to me. She takes me to places, and she loves me so much. She teaches me new things every day and tucks me in my bed every night. She also cooks tasty food all the time. She reads me stories sometimes too. I think my mom is awesome. I hope we can stay like this forever! So, God. Please don't take mom away from me, all right? I can share half of my favorite biscuits with you in exchange! Love, Gemma!!
Monika clutched the letter tightly to her chest, crying as she thought of the words.
Gemma: Mom? Why are y...
Monika quickly pulled Gemma close to her, wrapping her in an embrace.
Monika: Gem... Gem...
Gemma: M-mom? Why are you crying?
Monika: I... won't go away... I promise! Mom will be with you forever... That's a promise!
Gemma giggled.
Gemma: I know, mom. You already told me last time. We'll be together even when I marry my prince, right?
Gemma raised her hand, patting her mom on the head.
Gemma: There, there... Stop crying now.
Monika: Honestly... This girl.
Monika sniffed, pulling away, as she rubbed the tears from her eyes.
Monika: Yes... Yes... We will...
She let her hand fall, and looked at her Gem.
Monika: Say... Do you want to sleep with me tonight?
Gemma: Whaa! Really? Can I?
Monika: Of course, sweetheart. I like to cuddle my little Gem for the whoooole night!
Gemma: Me too, me too!
The two of them giggled.
Monika: No matter how smart she may be, she's... still just a kid at heart.
Gemma stood up, and grabbed her teddy bear as she looked back at her mom.
Monika: Come, Gem. Let's go to sleep. You still have school tomorrow.
Monika laid in bed, looking down at Gemma, who cuddled her.
Monika: Good night, Gem.
Gemma yawned, looking up at her.
Gemma: Good night, mom...
Monika kissed the top of Gemma's head, as she started humming.
Doctor: Mrs. Monika, your test results came back from the labs today and... it's not good. You might want to take a seat.
Monika sat down, as Raven stood behind her, looking at the doctor.
Monika: What do you mean exactly?
Doctor: I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but... you have cancer, heart cancer to be specific...
Raven's face remained the same, while Monika's expression fell.
Monika: But... but how? I never noticed anything and never had any problems before! So... how come now? I... I can still be treated, right? It's still not too late, right?
Doctor: I'm... terribly sorry. I'm going to be honest with you...
The doctor paused, as Monika looked back to Raven, who didn't react.
Doctor: Any form of treatment will be futile at this point. You have been asymptomatic all this time to the point that we didn't notice the cancer cells had already spread all over your body.
Raven gasped, the first reaction that she had yet. Monika's head hung down, as she closed her eyes shut.
Doctor: But it's up to you. If you still want to fight it, we'll do whatever we can to help you. Although... we can't promise you anything...
Monika's humming paused, as she looked down at her little girl.
Monika: Please, dear God... If there's one thing I'm going to ask you... Please... let me stay with my daughter a little bit longer... I'm going to do everything I can to fight it. So, please... Please, help me. Even if my chances of survival are slim to none. I'll never know unless I try. I can't... leave my daughter like this. I still... have yet to... teach my daughter everything...
For what felt like an eternity, Edel scratched at the wood in the inky darkness of his minuscule prison. Blood dripped onto his face from his torn-up fingertips, but he continued until the pain became unbearable. He fought against unconsciousness until it claimed him.
When he woke, his fingers had healed.
Edel clawed at the lid of the coffin, aided by the rain-soaked earth that made the wood more pliable. Weaker.
Edel: Weak things are so very easy to break.
It was a harsh lesson he learned. One of the many over Edel's life.
He tried to focus only on his seemingly insurmountable task.
And on Aloysius.
Edel had no idea how much time had passed and whether he still had time to stop Aloysius from his horrific plans. The thought made him shake with anger, frustration, and fear.
Lenna had to be smarter than to trust him. She wouldn't allow herself to be alone with him.
It didn't matter, another voice in his head observed. Aloysius could knock her out and drag her away somewhere no one would ever find her again.
A cry of rage tore from his throat as he yanked a larger shard of wood from its place and mud poured through the hole in the lid, covering his face. He roared and pushed it away. But more came, like a cold, wet, demonic blanket meant to smother him. It filled his mouth, his throat. He choked on it, holding on to one single thought that gave him strength.
Edel: Nothing can kill me.
He shoved, pushed, and dug at the mud and dirt shoveled on top of his unmarked grave.
Slow, it was so painfully slow.
But he did not give up. Darkness had become his entire world. Now, he kept his eyes squeezed shut to protect them from the mud.
Inch by inch, he pressed upward. One handful at a time.
Slowly.
Slowly.
Until, finally, after a thrust of his fist, the sensation of cool air took him by surprise. He froze for a moment before stretching out his fingers to feel for any further barriers. But there were none.
Despite the strength that had flowed through him, he wanted to rest, just for a few moments. He needed time to heal.
But then Lenna's face appeared in his mind's eye.
Lenna: Giving up so easily?
She raised an eyebrow as she asked, but she was quickly replaced by (Y/N).
(Y/N): How disappointing.
Edel: Trying my best.
Then, once more, it was replaced, this time by Ruby.
Ruby: Try harder.
It sounded just like them - more cruel than kind in a moment of great importance. And it helped.
Kindness had never, in Edel's experience, brought anyone back from their own death.
Only magic could do that.
Muscles screaming with effort, he pushed further, finally freeing his other arm from the hungry earth. He grabbed hold of the muddy ground and pulled himself upward.
It was as if the earth itself birthed him back into the real world.
Almost as if it was one last gift from a long dead friend.
He lay there, his arm collapsed over his chest, and forced himself to take deep, choking breaths as his heart slammed against his rib cage.
The stars were out, bright in the black sky.
Stars. He could see stars after an eternity of utter darkness. They were the most beautiful things he'd ever seen in his entire life.
When he laughed out loud at the thought, it sounded slightly hysterical.
Edel slid his dirt-encrusted fingers over his chest.
Edel: Thank you.
He wiped at his mud-covered face before he slowly, gingerly pushed himself up to his feet on limbs that had very recently been shattered.
He felt strong.
Stronger than he should have, he knew.
Magically strong.
And ready to find and kill Aloysius.
Or... perhaps he was still buried, moments from death, and this was only a vivid dream before the gods finally claimed him.
For once in his life, Edel decided to be positive.
Where was he? He pushed his head up as he looked around, seeing only a small clearing with nothing to mark his location or indicate how to get back to civilization. He'd been unconscious when Aloysius and his minions had brought him here.
He could be anywhere.
He needed food. Drink.
Vengeance.
But first and most importantly, he needed to know that the reincarnates were safe, and make sure that they were safe, if they were not currently so.
And then he collapsed.
His sword drove through the skull of the creature, finally killing it, as it screeched in its death. It dissolved away like the rest of the Demonic, and it was concerning to see them here.
He turned his gaze back to the beach, pushing his blonde hair out of his eyes, looking to see that a small figure sat up from her spot. She looked towards the forest that he was hiding in, and then seemed to harden her gaze, as she started walking towards him.
He put the red and gold xiphos on his back, along with the golden shield, and knelt down, looking at her as she walked along.
He remembered the last time that they had spoken, the last time that they had interacted. It was the first time in a long while.
The first time since that night at Beacon Academy.
She called his name, and he had returned.
Not all events are necessarily in chronological order.
Until next time!