Prologue

The city burned below. From the remains of an incomplete skyscraper, Velvet watched as countless airships rained down hellfire. Several buildings had already collapsed from the bombardment and she could only imagine the cries of the civilians. But she couldn’t mourn the tragedy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash, and without even a thought, she leapt to the side just before the steel she had been standing on was blasted by a spell, exploding into sparks and fragments.

“Edea!” Velvet recognized the caster all too well.

Her twin sister sneered, her white hair whipping in the wind. “Well, well, you actually decided to show up. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Velvet only stared at her, ready for combat.

“What’s with that look? As if I wouldn’t ambush you when I had such a golden opportunity. I mean, you should’ve seen yourself. Looking down at those animals all sad.” Edea’s expression changed from mocking to anger. “Absolutely disgusting.”

Velvet and Edea were twin dolls created by Alfred Gwehrtain, the legendary alchemist and dollmaker. Their faces were identical, they shared the same red eyes, both were two feet tall, and their bodies were close too, but that’s where the similarities stopped. Of course, there were the superficial differences, Velvet had black hair, Edea had white, but what really separated them was much deeper.

“Hey!” Edea yelled. “I’m talking to you! Why don’t you say something!?”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.” Velvet stood her ground defiantly.

“Nothing? No righteous speech this time, little miss perfect?” Edea smirked, stepping forward.

“Words are wasted on a monster like you.”

Edea recoiled in faux shock. “A monster? Me? How could you say such a thing?” Smiling wide, she continued, “But you know, what really is a monster? It’s all relative, isn’t it? To a mouse, a cat is a monster, and to a cat, a coyote. See, right, wrong, doesn’t really matter. When dealing with animals, all that matters is strength. The winner decides what is just, and the loser is promptly annihilated.”

“How dare you!?” Velvet took a step forward. “You don’t understand anything at all!”

Edea’s gaze turned to ice. “I understand much more than you ever will.” Easing up, she continued, “Our ‘father,’ detestable as he may have been, gave me a special gift. Living dolls are so limited, having to rely on humans to operate at our full capacity, but not me.” She cackled before summoning six black tentacles from her body. “With these, I can just suck out their mana directly! That is the power of Crinis.” The tentacles writhed as she continued, “Father was first, but I’ve done it so many times, you wouldn’t believe the power that’s running through me!”

“How many people have you killed!?”

“I don’t know.” She pretended to think about it as she called back her tentacles. “I would’ve lost count even if I did care.”

“You killed our father and how many more after that!?”

Velvet leaped forward and drew her rapier, slashing it down right into Edea, but Edea was prepared, drawing her own broadsword to block the attack. Their blades clashed before Velvet jumped back towards safety.

“There it is! That’s the Velvet I wanted to see! The real Velvet!” Edea threw out a volley of magic projectiles before jumping forward.

The spells weren’t targeted at her, instead they were to block off her escape routes, forcing Velvet into another clash with Edea.

Edea struck like lightning, delivering a flurry of slashes and stabs, but while Velvet was able to block them, it was taking everything she had to do so. However, while Edea was fast and strong, her technique was sloppy. A botched strike left Edea wide open for a counterattack, and Velvet delivered, firing a burst of hot, glowing magic, barely missing Edea but singing her dress. Velvet, tired from the attack, took the opportunity to increase the distance between them.

Realizing what had happened, Edea became furious. “You bitch!” On paper, Velvet should be completely outmatched, yet Edea was always getting outplayed. However, she quickly regained her composure. “Those spells aren’t cheap. I bet you’re already exhausted, aren’t you?”

Edea lunged at Velvet yet again, but this time Velvet was able to maintain her distance due to Edea’s spells becoming more erratic, allowing Velvet to slip through the gaps in her offense. Velvet began climbing up the tower, jumping from beam to beam, tossing out a spell of her own occasionally to pester her pursuer. The chase continued until they had made it to the very top. The two stood atop separate vertical beams, nothing but open air between them.

Edea smirked. “Looks like it’s the end of the line.” She stood high above the destruction below, on level with the airships causing it all, almost like an angel of death.

Absolutely exhausted, Velvet didn’t know what to do next. She had wanted to wear Edea out, but Edea had too much energy for that. With only one option left, Velvet steeled herself, preparing for the final confrontation. She’d have to put everything she had into one last bout, and once she had an opening, she would deliver a single killing blow. It was the only way.

“Now! This is the end!” Edea cried out before jumping into the air.

Velvet jumped as well and they met in the sky, but as Edea’s swing was just about to hit Velvet, it was stopped by a translucent barrier. While Edea’s attack had been blocked, Velvet was driving her sword right into Edea’s chest.

Edea gasped in pain. Then, to Velvet’s horror, she smirked. “You should’ve just chopped off my head.”

With the last of her energy expended, Velvet realized her fatal mistake. Edea summoned her dark tendrils and shot them right through Velvet, piercing her cheek, arms, and torso, overwhelming her with pain.

The wound was too great. She couldn’t survive. Edea twisted her tendrils in glee, reveling in her sister’s pain. With a wide, venomous smile, she leaned in close and whispered, “Farewell,” before retracting her tendrils and pushing Velvet off the building into the smoke and darkness below.

Velvet gasped and her vision blurred. She had failed. The last thing she saw was Edea illuminated by the fires of war before her senses faded before darkness engulfed her.