405. Chaos, 8

(Rose)

That moment of awakening is very intense. For the whole body. Thunder courses through the nerves like an impulse.

My eyes already hurt from the light, and they’re not open yet.

My lungs hurt as they first inhale air again.

My muscles are sore, as blood begins running through them faster.

My skin is cold, and I can feel it now.

If my lungs weren’t still numb from this awakening, I would out a primal yell, as my brain begins its full duty over my body and I ache for lack of stretch.

My throat releases the remaining amniotic fluid out in a last pulsation. I’m standing up forcefully, with poor balance.

The sky is blinding me, even though I’m in a small hole of mud.

I reach for the metallic edge I see and almost cut myself. I recognise this. I remember it.

I climb up, pulling the sword from the ground and earth right after me.

~

It’s freezing cold, but it’s nice. I begin to recognise what surrounds me.

I recognise the distant city.

I recognise the flying ship in the distance above it.

I can feel my heartbeat rising already, and shivers running through me.

Is someone stealing my ship? This idea amuses me more than it annoys me. But I’m still feeling all fuzzy. I can guess there’s something else.

For only clothes right now, I have a sword. Uh... Should I worry about that first?

But then, I see the shape of something I’ve encountered before, moving near the edge of the city.

That’s the real reason why my heart is feeling tense. It’s here...

I only had to make a few steps to better recognise it.

Priest...

The beast, still faceless as always, looked at me, and then behind, and then back at me.

It’s not sure whom to attack first.

I’m walking in its direction, more steadily than last time, reawakening every muscle in my body. I want revenge for a lot of things...

It’s already time to have some fun, thinks a part of me.

R - Shut the fuck up Ogre.

I still grin.

I notice finally that the colour of my skin is very uneven. I’m mostly ghastly pale, but my whole right arm and various spots on me are a darker tone, roughly ash grey. A gift from Licht.

Ahead of me, the Priest roars loudly, from a throat that has no longer any jaw.

It chose me, and begun charging toward me already.

I’m ready. I’m not blinking. I’m growing more tensed but standing ready.

Lichts needed artefacts to use magic. I don’t.

I still have to be cautious though. I don’t think my overall nature has changed.

I’m simply more confident in my use of T.I.

And I have wrath to settle.

As the beast is charging me, I’m opening the gates. My eyes suddenly feel like they can see more, and my whole body as if it had limitless potential.

The T.I. in the air flows freely and I can use it.

I jump on the side as the demon rushes ahead and misses me. My sword hits its leg slightly. Just a thin cut.

I land back on the ground and straighten myself up.

I’m feeling so calm, it’s weirdly eerie.

The demon turns back. I notice its giant wings now. And the thicker scales.

R - Oh... You changed a lot since we last met, and first met.

P - ...

Scales on the torso after its first fight with Licht. Wings after its fight with Bleue... Now I get it.

R - You’re evolving, to face me.

P - To destroy all of you!

R - So my death didn’t change anything for you sadly...

It laughed, I think. I feel amused and sad too.

P - You’re not dead yet.

R - I get your point. You didn’t notice that both Licht and Rose Blume died here. Shouldn’t you stop?

P - Gods will rule this world once you’re all dead!

Ah yes. Because it can talk, for a moment I forgot what his motivations and intelligence were.

R - Too bad your body can evolve but not your stupid considerations. Your ambition is stupid. Come then, Priest. Face reality once more. Maybe you’ll learn this time.

Taunting him didn’t quite work last time. It still doesn’t.

It gets on all four limbs like a cat ready to jump. Its wings are stretched ahead as if it was going to jump to fly.

I hold my sword tighter. For all that has been, I’m ready to strike.

~

It’s bleeding all over its ravaged face, or what’s left of it.

Something wounded it pretty badly before me.

Storm clouds begin to gather above us. Given that I hold a long sword, I know what it wants to do.

I slash one of its arms off in a clean gesture and fluid movement.

I’m feeling vengeful but really I’m acting cold. All is still blurry in my mind, but I’m feeling nice.

The beast collapses in its run, and slides over the rocks for a long distance. The arm hits the ground a little aside. Blood is spilled everywhere around me.

I’m standing clear, almost proud. It’s soothing to be able to breath real air under the real sky. It feels so nice...

I’m very calm, but I’m also enjoying something in this. Though it pains me elsewhere that it is the case.

In the sky, the ship is moving over the city.

I see the rope ladder being unrolled. Someone wants to climb down while it’s not anchored?

P - Ros!

I thought it would resign from this. Wasn’t I sharp enough? It doesn’t.

I avoid the strikes from the remaining arm and claws, mostly. I get small cuts, and get a last kick in the face. I didn’t notice his knee moving.

I stand up again before its heavy punch crushes the ground where I lied.

My father would have loved hearing about you, I briefly think.

A vengeful, zealous, fanatic and wrathful demon, with the strength of a legion. An enemy to reckon with, and a believer above all.

One nemesis that was able to grow wings to better keep up with us.

It stops the blade of my sword with the bone of its severed arm. For a second, what I saw there, was myself, a long time ago.

I too, used once my wounded arm to fight and destroy enemies I hated direly.

Its wrath isn’t too unfamiliar with mine. Although now things have changed and this one is using a simply a similar tactic against me.

Sacrificing his wounded arm even further and enduring the pain... To catch me better with the other arm.

My sword is stuck in the broken limb, and his free hand catches me whole.

I throw more strength in, vacuuming more T.I. in brute force. The air becomes darker around me for a moment, and before it can finish me, the sword moves regardless of everything. I slash ahead its arm, its torso, and reach the other shoulder.

I’m released from the giant’s grasp. It’s making a step back, bleeding all over.

I calm down my unrestrained use of T.I.

The large demon now maybe will change his tactics, or chose to flee.

When I convert the ambient T.I, I can use powerful magic or strength, for the price of risking my humanity and sanity amongst other costs.

This demon, it’s one good step ahead of me in using the strength from the two worlds in good combination and synergy.

Even now, I know, we both know, that this thing is stronger than me.

I need to release and burn unreasonable amounts of energy to match his steady level of strength and regeneration, while he never risks losing himself or its integrity, no matter what.

I have the upper hand now, but I probably won’t be able to kill it no matter what I do. And on the long run, I can’t compete.

His wings twitch.

It escapes my next strike in a swift jump.

It lands poorly just behind me, by accident, instead of flying away. I think it lost its balance because of the missing arm.

As I rushed closer to it, I saw in the distance the ship beginning to move away.

Holding onto the rope ladder and now rising, is someone I think I recognise.

I wave at her, shamelessly, before I turn back to my mad foe.

I start paring an attack and then retaliate harshly.

It’s still stronger and incredibly fast for its weight. I get punched. I’m so light next to it that I almost fly away.

But it’s far from over. My bones still damp from the power I let seep through realign and repair before I hit the ground. It’s far from over. I’m still burning bright.

I’m standing up again, excited.

I see it getting ready to fly again, but turning its back to me. It wants to fly after the ship instead.

It jumps in a burst of wind.

In a second, all my violent excitement erupts into something else. The emergency, like when Blume saved me on that mountain. It turns into a propulsion of myself like never before.

The ground breaks behind me as I follow its path. The air becomes viscous like honey as I pierce through it very abruptly.

I used more power than I wanted or ever planned, I took unwise risks all along since I returned.

For other reasons, I went after it like a bolt of light.

~

The ship wasn’t very far away yet into the sky.

Myls had just finished climbing the ladder, when she saw the demon suddenly flying after them.

The beast was catching up so fast.

But then I arrived in a sudden bolt, landing on the back of the beast abruptly. I’m not heavy enough to affect it much just from that, but it doesn’t matter.

For a second, they looked at me, agape. I surely would have as well, had I been in their shoes on a different day: but right now, I’m in the rush of it.

I held my long sword blade pointing down, and plunged it to the hilt inside the back of the beast, piercing its chest all the way through.

I heard an old friend calling my name against the wind. I looked up and smiled, while the beast began to plummet.

I pulled my sword back and fell a little behind them all.

I focused on another memory and opened wings of light in my back for a few short seconds; just enough to slow my fall to a reasonable speed and aim over the river.

The demon went to crash with damaged heart somewhere I couldn’t see.

It will survive, and so will I.

I dove into the icy water. In the distance, my ship is flying away to safety with my friends on board.

What a perilous return for me. I didn’t have time to think about anything as it all rushed.

I didn’t expect that.

But I didn’t hate it.

~