Chapter 31

31

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Delia's voice penetrated deep into Caste's psyche as a powerful protective wall encased her thoughts and eased her nausea, "You are being purposely mislead. It is not the Beast-Fiend Sevius you were meant to defeat. It is your captor. You must remember all that we spoke of, all that Fiaerna has erased before you play right into her hand. Bare my armor and remember who your true foe is. The enemy of Odinsai. The enemy of Earth. The enemy of all mankind. She who has trapped you here against your will. She who longs to bind your soul, °our° soul, to her very own. Wake up and remember, Casterline Akahoshi. Before it is too late. Wake up and fight!"

When the Queen's earnest words faded, Casterline found herself decked out in Black Obsidian Armor, an item transmuted directly from Delia's long forgotten secret treasure trove. This was a unique, one of a kind item formerly known as White Ivory Armor. Delia often dawned this attire during street parades when she and the King visited foreign diplomats, or made surprise visits to the commonfolk, and most often during secret training bouts against Duchess Gwenavier. As Caste slowly raised her head, she caught sight of Fiaerna, still encased in her impenetrable dome warping to and proceeding to kneel over Duchess Gwenevier's battered body. "This is the embodiment of my mother's hatred for me, my father's pointless anticipation of me, my subjects' disdain for my very birth. This is Gwenevier's final act of defiance. And those," She glanced upward at the thousands of Souls floating upward into the atmosphere, "the Souls of Odinsai no longer trapped inside, desperately seeking the salvation you thought you'd been giving them all this time. Desperately trying to get away from me. What a beautiful farce this all was." Fiaerna cackled, a cold and Soulless sound. "When I first came across Sevius, the creature was merely a pony. And even then, with all my Godlike power, I was no match for it. I had no idea she cared for Mother and her people so much. But now that you've killed Aunt Gwen in your moment of angst...Well, I hope it was happy hunting...Mother." Fiaerna's face contorted into a hideous grin.