Beginning of the End

The chapel was no longer a sanctuary.

Screams thundered as Darren’s roar split the air. Shards of glass rained down, slicing silk and flesh as nobles and commoners alike scattered in frantic waves. Benches toppled, jeers had turned to shrieks. The darkness began seeping all over, swallowing the ground in its wake as creatures of darkness spread.

Estel’s grip was the only anchor I had as Darren…no, the Black Dragon, unleashed a storm of shadows across the chamber. Dark mana surged outward in violent pulses, each one sending more and more waves of red eyed creatures in its wake. The world trembled beneath the weight of his rage.

And then I saw them. They were a lot different from the shadows from the forest where I had almost lost Estel. The memory of their whispering chorus scraping at my mind returned full force and more. The whispers had risen into shrieks that clawed against my skull as the creatures became much more frightening in their appearance. Some even looked much more bigger and misshapen than the ones we encountered before.

No one paid any attention to any of those details, however. They saw only monsters clawing their way into existence. It was enough to cause mayhem and panic to send the chapel into chaos.

“Rosaria, stay behind me!” Estel shouted, drawing his blade in one smooth motion. His sword flared with light, clashing against the onyx air that tried to choke us. He moved with his all familiar precision, his form striking and unyielding. Every swing of his weapon carved through the shadows, each strike bursting with sparks of ice and flame as though he meant to tear the very night apart.

But for every creature he struck down, more poured out of Darren’s body. Crawling from the red veins that glowed across his scaled form, they spilled like a tide into the streets beyond the shattered chapel doors. Outside, the screams of the people rose in a piercing chorus as chaos rippled through the city.

The kingdom was breaking apart before our very eyes. And then her voice cut through it all. Historia. She stumbled forward around the falling rubble until she stood near Darren. She was dangerously close to the jagged talons that raked the stone floor. Her pale dress whipped in the wind of his movements, her silver hair shining in the glow of fire and shadow. She tilted her face up toward him, her voice steady despite the roar of destruction around us.

“Darren,” she called, firm but gentle. “You must stop! You’re stronger than this. I know you can hear me!. Please, come back to us! Come back to your senses! You love the kingdom too much to bring it to ruin!”

Those who had not yet fled to hear her words carried on the storm of raining disaster. The people seized on them instantly, desperate for something, anything to bring hope. Even though they knew the truth now, even though Baron Drewitt revealed her to be a fraud, they still turned their eyes toward her. Because unlike me, she was doing something while I stood frozen in fear. Because unlike me, she looked unafraid when I could hardly breathe from the terror in my heart.

Their sobs softened into strained hope. They wanted to believe her. They needed to believe someone. They still ran away from the creatures, but with new hope that the fake saintess could somehow turn things around.

“Historia!” Estel’s voice rang out above the ruin, raw and cutting. He drove his blade through another shadowed beast, sparks of fire and ice colliding against its briar-like body until it burst apart. His mismatched eyes burned with fury as he turned on her. “Get away from him! You will be killed!”

There was no anger at her in his tone. Only fear. Fear for her safety. It was unbearable to watch. My heart twisted with that same old wound, the feelings for him still bound me, reminding me of how he had chosen Historia. Historia, the one this world was at its mercy... And still, even now, after her betrayal, after her choosing Darren over Estel… He looked at her as if she was the one who mattered most.

I thought I might break apart right there. But I forced it down. There is no time for heartbreak. The kingdom itself was splintering under our feet. And if we didn’t do anything soon, everyone would be in grave danger.

Historia’s hands glowed faintly with golden light, the flickering aura making her look like some fragile beacon against Darren’s vast form. She didn’t move away. Her chin lifted as though she alone understood what had to be done. “If I leave him, more people will die. Someone has to try to reach out to him. I’ll bring him back to his senses.”

She said it softly and caring. Her voice carried just far enough that the crowd clung to it like a lifeline. They stared at her, as if she was salvation itself. Even though they knew she wasn't the Saintess. And yet, it was her they followed in this moment.

Darren’s roar shattered more of the chapel walls. His tail lashed through the marble, scattering rubble and priests alike. His claws tore trenches in the floor as his molten eyes locked on Estel and I.

“This is my fault,” he shouted, voice breaking as he raised his trembling blade. “All of it. I should have seen it. I had a feeling he was the Black Dragon. And yet, I couldn’t being myself to hurt him, since Historia loved him..”

The words pierced me. His fault? Wait, how did Estel even know that Darren was the Black Dragon to begin with?

“Estel-?” My voice caught, but before I could ask him, a shadow lunged at us.

Allen’s sword struck it down in a spray of black smoke, his jaw set hard as he rushed over to retrieve it. “Rosaria, Estel! Get back!” he yelled, already pivoting to cut down another that sprang from the floor.

Beside him, Harry fought like a storm, cutting a path through the creatures while shouting for nobles to flee. “This way! Get to safety you two!” His commanding tone carried strength. He took down one of the more stronger looking creatures as he ran towards Baron Drewitt and the King who were trying to get through the wave of monstrous shadows.

Professors hurled spells into the fray, some summoning barriers that withheld long enough for families to escape. Others summoned lightning and flame, tearing shadows apart waves of monsters with desperate precision.

Still, for every creature slain, another burst from Darren’s body, crawling out of the molten veins that stretched across his scales. The flood seemed endless.

And above it all, the King stood on the dais, his face carved in disbelief as he took down the creatures. “My son,” he whispered, voice cracking. His gaze briefly fell to where the Queen had vanished. “It was her. She carried this curse. I thought that the dragons had long since ended the war on!”

Grief twisted into fury as his voice rose, his magic reflecting his emotions as a whole swarm was eradicated in seconds. “She deceived me. She deceived this kingdom. And now she has doomed us all!”

The dragon’s roar shook the city, grief spilling out like fire and tearing stone apart as if the world itself would break. The marble cracked beneath our feet. His roar bled across the kingdom, echoing so far it seemed to split the heavens. Shadows spilled onto the streets in a torrent, spreading manic whispers across the city. Fires lit against the winter air. Buildings were collapsing as people retreated or fought back the waves of monsters. The kingdom was falling into utter ruin.

Historia’s magic gleamed weakly in her palms, lifting her hands higher toward Darren. “Darren! Please listen! You’re not lost. Come back to us! The people still believe in you, in us.”

The crowd clung to her words, even though she was a fraud, even though I stood there doing nothing. Their eyes turned to her as if she could still save them.

And my chest clenched again, sharp as knives feeling utterly helpless..

Darren’s wings stretched wide, blotting out the sky with darkness. His roar so loud, you would think it tore through the heavens. Shadows poured into the city below. And still, Historia called to him, trying to wrap the kingdom’s faith around herself like a mantle. Still, Estel stood firm with his blade drawn, his gaze torn between her and the beast. The world was ending, and I was paralyzed in utter fear, just like I always was.

“Darren!” Historia yelled.

“Historia, get out of there!” Estel yelled.

We ran towards her, trying to drag her away from the monstrous dragon Darren had become. It wasn’t until I looked up that my eyes met his, and a rage filled him at my gaze. I couldn’t help but tremble in fear as Estel shoved me out of the way, and flat on the ground. I was going to protest before I saw the horror that ensued.

Darren’s tail swung at Historia and Estel full force, knocking the two onto a pile of the chapel's rubble. Dust flew into the air and obscured the scenery. I coughed and tried to wipe my eyes from the as I felt my heart stop once the air cleared.

Estel laid there in the rubble, holding Historia as the white stones were painted by the blood. Historia looked equally panicked as I stood up and ran over towards them.

“Estel!” I yelled, my throat hurting from the frantic scream. I cursed myself for not being able to run faster, but I was already out of breath when I finally made it. Historia was paralyzed in fear, and I shoved her out of the way. “Please, oh god. Please!”

I began trying to use magic to heal him, when Historia shoved me out the way. “What gives?!” I yelled, but that harrowing smile was plastered on her face again. The one that sent shivers down my spin that I saw on my way out of the academy. Her eyes wide and dilated like a woman gone mad.

“Your sacrifice won’t be in vain Estel, not this time as well. We’ll honor your death just like all the other times! Yeah… Yeah! I’ll just turn back time again once I get the powers from Darren again! Next time it will work out!”

“Historia…” Estel mumbled, barely able to talk.

My stomach dropped at the scene. Had… had she always let Estel die? Thinking on her words, it seemed like aside from knowing the timelines, she was the one that made them… were each of Amor’s stories…. A different timeline that Historia created?

I got back up, and began using my magic, doing my best to heal Estel, and grounding myself to not let Historia interrupt again. Historia tried to retaliate, trying to shake me off as I healed Estel.

“What are you doing Rosaria? Estel is meant to die in this world! You can’t save him! I’ve already tried before again and again! Its hopele-”

I stopped healing momentarily, and did something I had been itching to do since I read ‘Historia’s Ever After’, and especially after ‘His Amour’.

I, had slapped Historia Primaria. The blessed girl in this world that had everyone at her mercy.