The Truth of Elnyra

Where... where am I? Why is it so dark? Am I dead? Is-Is this real?
The questions roll through Reiji's head, surrounded by darkness. 
No fire, no tents, no sound of battle.
Just the still darkness, an empty space devoid of light, where even his heartbeat is muted.
Like floating in an endless void.

Then - a flicker of blue light,breaking through the veil of darkness. Forming into the goddess fragment, descending down towards him, her figure was more defined than usual. No longer the ghostly guide he'd grown use to, more a woman's silhouette  with eyes that burned with stars of sorrow. She was still surrounded by the fragile blue light, but her features were now visible with different colors. For the first time Reiji could see the white of her dress, the color of her lips, and her pale white skin.

Her voice isn't cold or commanding this time, no longer regal but soft and sweet, almost trembling, like she's whispering to herself as much as to him.

"That was dangerous Reiji. If I had been a little slower in providing you my own power, you would have died."

Reiji attempts to respond, but without a body in this void, he fails to make even a single sound.

"Focus Reiji, on your body, and your senses. Concentrate and recall them." Elnyra instructs him gently.

Closing his non existant eyes, Reiji concentrates as he recalls the feeling of his body and senses. A swirl of energy forms around him slowly forming into his body.

"Tch. That felt like ants were crawling all over me." He complained as he reopened his eyes, his body now visible.

"Um... Thanks for helping me out earlier." Reiji scratches his chin as he bows lightly to the goddess before him.

"You didn't leave me any choice, did you? If i didn't share my essence with you, you would have died." 

"Is that why I can see you now? Why you're not as blue as before?" Reiji waves with his hand motioning to the different features of Elnyra that he could now see.

"... Yes."

"So what is this place? Where are we?"

"This is the place between dream and reality, a space within you. It's because you burned away your own HP as fuel. You're in a critical state right now." The goddess answers, stepping forward to confront him.

"You finally see it don't you? The disaster that will befall this world if Vermundr is to return."

"... Are you still trying to get me to agree to be your hero?" His brows furrow into a scowl as he ask. "Why does it matter? I'm fighting them aren't I?"

"Because I need to know how determined you are, that you won't back down." The stars in her eyes shone brightly, burning into his.

"Why is it that important? Does it have something to do with the secrets your keeping from me?" 

"..." She pauses, her gaze faltering, biting down on her lips as if weighing her options.

"How could I possible agree to your request if you're still withholding things from me?" It was his turn to pressure her.

"How long are you going to avoid it, Elnyra? If you want me to step up, shouldn't you be honest first, Alicia?" Cornering her, he finally voices the recurring thought in the back of his mind.

Her eyes widened in shock, as the words Reiji utters enter her ears, yet she doesn't deny them.

"... How long have you known?" She finally asks.

"It's just a thought I've had. At first I dismissed it as nothing more than a silly idea, but the more dreams of your memories I had, the more I begin to think I wasn't crazy."

A silence hangs between them only for a moment, as Elnyra, no Alicia sighs reluctantly.

"You're right, I am Alicia... her consciousness at least."

"Uh huh. So why are you pretending to be Elnyra?"

"Because... no one can know that Alicia is still here."

"Because of Xenon or the Holy Order of the Saintess?"

"Both. Xenon's already been hurt enough. As for the Holy Order, that's got to do with what happened inside the seal." 

"What about it?"

"My body is still there. around 500 years have passed in this world but the seal exist outside of time and space. To me it was much longer than that, after battling non stop, I was able to kill Vermundr."

"Wait you killed it? Then why is all of the corruption happening again?"

"Because it's me. After killing Vermundr, the corruption escaped, it behaves like a semi living entity. After losing Vermundr its previous host, it entered me instead."

"Wait what?" 

"The corruption slowly erodes away at you Reiji. After so long in the seal, I finally lost the battle with it, I could feel it taking over my body and soul. The feeling of being tainted... twisted, and perverted beyond control. It was indescribable." Tears well up in her eyes as she recall her lonely struggle. "I ended up cursing this world, the goddess Elnyra, and the friends that I made in this world. At present, my body is fully under the control of the corruption, and that corruption is talking to the Reagent of Light, the leader of the Holy Order of the Saintess. "

"..."

"I knew that it was only a matter of time before I would be lost to the corruption. Having no choice, I did two things before running out of time." She paused, unsure if she was letting Reiji steel himself or if she was steeling herself. 

"First I used part of its other worldly power to seperate my consciousness from my body along with the hero's blessing from Elnyra. Sealing that sliver inside a gem, I casted it back into the forgotten temple."

"And the second?"

"The second was your summoning. Elnyra didn't bring you over because I still exist. When I first arrived she told me that a goddess can only ever bring forward one hero at a time. I forcefully summoned you using the power, but it wasn't you specifically. I simply prayed for someone who could help me."

"So that weird lightning bolt was your doing. And the reason I ended up in the forest was also because of your forceful summoning?"

"Yes. I'm sorry but I didn't have any other choice. Unlike a specific summoning of the goddess, I simply casted into our world, looking for someone who would be strong enough to carry this burden."

"Burden? You mean-"

Nodding resolutely, her gaze bore into him, pleading rather than commanding, as she grabbed his hand in her own. "Please kill me, Reiji. End my suffering. I can't hold on any longer."