The Order's Enhancements

Divia, still masquerading as Celestia, stood at the entrance of the store that she had knocked the real Celestia through. "It's over, Princess." She narrowed her eyes slightly at her. "Everything you fought for, tried to save. It all ends here. In a pile of ashes, just like your precious kingdom."

Celestia's vision blurred as she forced herself onto her hands and knees, every movement sending pain through her body. Blood dripped from her lips, staining the dusty floor.

“…No…” Celestia rasped, the word barely a whisper. Pressing her palm to the floor, she forced herself upright and glared at the twisted reflection before her.

Divia cocked her head, her icy smile never faltering. "No? Is that all you have left after that pitiful display? A single word of defiance?" She stepped closer, looking down on Celestia. "How disappointing. I expected more from the great Celestia. The daughter meant to rule, but was barely able to stand when confronted with her true nature."

The blonde elf clenched her fist and steadied her breath. After briefly lowering her gaze, she looked up and met her double's eyes. "You're right…" Her stance firmed. "I was a lot of things… Cold. Merciless. My past still haunts me, and I have yet to atone for it." She straightened and raised her guard. "But that doesn't mean I'll let you use it against me." Her palms began to glow. "And besides, just because you look like me… Doesn't mean you could wield a blade like me."

Divia's smirk faltered for just a fraction of a second. "Oh? Bold words from a fallen royal." She aimed the fake blade at Celestia. "Then show me." With that, she surged forward and brought the blade down in an overhead slash aimed at Celestia's chest. Celestia slipped left and drove an elbow into Divia's side.

Divia grunted from the hit but quickly regained her balance and swung back with a horizontal slash. Celestia caught her wrist, stopping the blade, then struck her jaw with an open palm. Two more palm strikes slammed into Divia's chest before a swift side kick sent the twisted doppelganger sliding across the hardwood floor.

Divia rose with a growl and lunged, her swordplay skilled but far less polished than Celestia's. Celestia parried, dodged, or countered every strike, punishing each opening. At last, she drove a radiant palm into Divia's chest, sending her crashing into the hanging shelves.

The shelves collapsed with a thunderous crash, sending jars and cans tumbling onto Divia. The shapeshifter dropped to one knee and glared up at Celestia, who stood several meters away, staring down at her.

"You can wear my face, Divia. You can imitate my voice. You can wear my armor and even copy the blade that I used. However, you're only copying what you've seen. You don't have my memories or my intuition. You did not undergo the training I did. You…Are…Not…Me."

Divia's eyes narrowed as she shoved the debris aside and slowly rose. Her illusion flickered—Celestia's face wavering before snapping back into place. "You think you've won something here?" Divia spoke with a venomous tone. "You're still the same cold, heartless princess your father molded you to be. You're still the same person, Princess. Just wearing a different mask.

"Call it whatever you want, Divia," Celestia responded. "But at least I chose this mask myself." Her hands glow brighter. "Unlike you, who makes a living out of wearing the masks of other people. Consuming their memories and mimicking the actions of every person you've come across." Divia, still wearing Celestia's face, growled lowly. "How many masks will you wear, Divia? How many masks will you wear until you have none left to hide behind?"

They stared at each other through a long, tense silence. Then Divia let out a low, dark laugh.

The chuckle slowly swelled into a disturbing laugh. Divia bowed her head, shoulders shaking as it echoed through the ruined store.

"Masks…" Divia murmured, raising her head. Celestia's imitated face cracked like porcelain, fragments falling away to reveal something darker beneath. "You think I wear these faces to hide behind?" Another piece crumbled. "No, Princess. I wear them because they're useful. They all serve a purpose." The illusion shattered completely, revealing Divia's true form—or at least, the closest thing to it. Her long silver hair flows once again, along with her grey skin.

"But you're right about one thing…" She dusted off her shoulder casually, as if the previous exchange hadn't just happened. "Copying you was a waste of time…Disappointing, even." Her lips curled into a cruel smile. "So, let's try something different."

Celestia's gaze sharpened as she held her ground, watching Divia transform once more. The air grew heavy as the Order's sigils ignited in Divia's pupils.

Celestia's breath caught as she watched the transformation. Divia's body stretched and shifted, bones cracking as her silhouette grew taller and broader. Her gray skin darkened to an almost metallic sheen.

"Let me show you what you're really facing." She chuckled again as her voice warped and deepened into something no longer elven. "Now behold! True ascension when one is blessed by the Order!"

The symbols in Divia's eyes blazed brighter, spilling across her skin like a broken dam. Her fingers lengthened into sharp claws, and her teeth sharpened into fangs—a semi-long tail. Leathery, bat-like wings burst from her back, whipping the debris into a violent whirlwind.

Celestia's heart pounded as the grotesque transformation unfolded. Divia no longer resembled the elf she had fought moments ago. In her place stood something monstrous—a twisted fusion of flesh and dark magic that made the air itself feel heavy.

"A Gar…A Gargoyle?!" The words left Celestia's lips before she could stop them. "Divia, you didn't!" She stared up in horror at the gargoyle, whose monstrous form still bore traces of elven features. “Divia… this can’t be…” Celestia fell silent, stunned by Divia's imposing new form. Standing nearly eight feet tall, she now towered over the blonde elf.

Divia loomed over her, wings spread wide enough to block the light from the store's entrance. As she stepped forward, her claws scraped the floorboards, and the small building's strained timbers groaned with every movement.

"Surprised, Princess?" Her voice grated with a strange blend of Divia's own tone and something Celestia couldn't identify. "Take a good look." She breathed. "Take a good look at what the Order's enhancements really look like!" Reveling in her power, she slammed her tail down and swept it around her, destroying everything in its path.

Celestia stumbled back, struggling to comprehend the creature before her. "You…" Celestia's voice wavered. "You let them do this to you?"

"Let them?" Divia took another step forward, the floor groaning underneath her weight. "Princess, I didn't let them do this to me." Her smile became unnervingly larger. "I begged them to do it. To take me from my pitiful Elven limits into a power that far outweighs what anyone in that pathetic kingdom could imagine. Even that poor excuse you call a father!" Divia's elongated arm snapped forward with astonishing speed, catching Celestia off guard. The powerful blow sent her tumbling into the square.

Celestia skidded across the ground, trailing dust and debris. Pain tore through her back as she crashed into an overturned cart, which collapsed beneath her. Through blurred vision, she watched Divia emerge from the ruined storefront, her massive frame barely squeezing through the hole she had made.

"Amazed, Princess? Am I strong enough to be considered an equal now?!" Divia taunted as she slowly advanced. Celestia forced herself upright, stumbling as she stared at the monster before her.

"Divia…" Her voice came out ragged. "This isn't strength at all. This is…Why would you? This is corruption. The Order didn't give you power—they corrupted everything that made you who you are!"

"Blasphemy! "With a swipe of her arm, Divia sent a gust of wind toward Celestia, who instinctively crossed her arms to guard her face. "The Order showed me who I really am." Divia retaliated. "They amplified my power. Showed me how to take what I want—memories, faces, lives! All of it, now no elf can look down upon me! Not that cursed kingdom, or your false king."

"And what did that cost you?!" Celestia asks. "You lost everything! Your dignity! Your soul! Everything that you were!"

Divia lowered her gaze, studying Celestia in silence before answering. "Such outdated concepts." She sneered, her wings slightly expanding. "Power is the only currency that matters in this world. Something you will never understand." The half-elf, half-gargoyle stepped forward, denting the ground beneath her. "You will never understand what it was like to be a dark elf. Never understand the scrutiny we endured, regardless of what we were to your father."

Divia's massive form vanished, then reappeared before Celestia with startling speed. Celestia gasped.

Without a flicker of emotion, Divia backhanded Celestia, sending the high-elf princess hurtling through several buildings. She finally crashed into the third house and slumped against the shattered wall.

Celestia's vision blurred again as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Agony coursed through her body, and every breath set her ribs on fire. Plaster rained onto her shoulders while the wall splintered behind her, leaving her dazed and struggling to understand what had struck her.

"Such… power…" she murmured, slowly raising her head as Divia's silhouette approached. "Get up…" Her thoughts raced. "You have to get up… Come on, body… move."

Divia's footsteps grew louder as she approached. "You see now, don't you?" In an instant, she was gone and then back again, standing over Celestia's collapsed body. "The power that separates you and me. The difference between what I've become and what you'll always be?" Celestia slowly turned onto her hands and knees, struggling to rise. "Look at you." Divia scoffed. "All that talk about dignity, morals, selling my soul for something greater…And now you, on your hands and knees in front of the very servants your father had at his beck and call." Without warning, Divia whipped her long tail down onto Celestia's back, driving her to the floor.

The impact knocked the air from Celestia's lungs in a sharp gasp. Her fingers scraped helplessly across the floorboards as Divia's tail pressed down harder. "Pathetic." Divia's voice echoed above her as the tail lifted, then slammed down again, pinning Celestia to the floor. "This is what your precious kingdom produced? This is the heir to Vel'Andria?" A mocking laugh escaped her. "Such a waste." Her tail slowly coiled around Celestia's neck, lifting her until they were face to face.

"Di…via," Celestia gasped, instinctively clutching the tail suspending her. "The…Order…They poisoned your mind. This isn't who you are…This isn't—"

"As if you know who I am!" Divia shouted, driving her fist into Celestia's stomach. Celestia's eyes flew wide from the impact. "You never knew me! None of you did!" She continued, her tail slinging her against the wall. "Me! A prominent figure who sat at the round table of Elves! A high accolade for a Dark Elf like myself, but did your father see it that way? No!" Divia marched closer as Celestia struggled to raise her head.

"We, the Jaegers! Who carried out all the dirty work that your father wasn't brave enough to do on his own!" Divia began circling Celestia's prone form. "But still, your father looked at us with contempt! Dark elves at his precious table—what a joke!" She growled. "I served loyally for decades while he whispered with his advisors about my 'questionable heritage.' And you?" She seized Celestia by the throat and hoisted her into the air, leaving her legs dangling. "You with your perfect light magic and your damn bloodline—you never once spoke against him! And you had a dark elf for a mother!" She hurled Celestia into another wall. Celestia struck it hard, then crashed to the ground.

"You're not even perfect. You're an abomination. You and your damn sister." She strode forward and loomed over Celestia. "A High-Elf Father. A Dark-Elf Mother. A discrepancy that should have been eliminated the second you drew breath."

Celestia clutched her ribs, fighting for breath as she forced herself to meet Divia's monstrous gaze.

"I… didn't… know," she gasped, golden light flickering faintly around her fingers. "I… Didn't—"

"LIAR!" Divia struck, but Celestia slipped aside at the last second and dropped to one knee, gasping as pain from the earlier blows tore through her. "You knew! You all knew! You couldn't have been naïve enough to believe everything your father did was just!"

Celestia glanced away, Divia's words clearly striking a nerve, then met her gaze again. "Perhaps I was too naïve to admit, Divia. Even so, siding with the Order is no better. You're still being treated like a weapon; all you've done is swap the hand that carries you." Celestia slowly rose, her legs trembling until she regained her balance. "The Order is using you, Divia. They're using you…Just as they use everyone else."

Divia's eyes narrowed, the sigils in her pupils still glowing. "At least The Order gave me the power to choose my own path." Her wings spread wide, casting shadows across the ruined room. "Your father never gave me that choice—He just expected obedience."

"And what choice do you have now?" Celestia's voice grew stronger despite her injuries. "You've become their weapon now. Their monster. Their heartless cruelty of taking lives without reason." She steadied herself against the wall. "Look at yourself, Divia…Is this really what you wanted? Or is this just another mask you're wearing?"

For a moment, Divia faltered. Her expression shifted as she lowered her gaze, then she vanished and reappeared before Celestia. "You know nothing of what they've done for me." She hissed lowly. "I was nothing but a mere Dark elf before. A shadow in your glorious kingdom. Now I am power incarnate." She drew back her fist and swung at Celestia's head, but Celestia ducked just in time and rushed forward as best she could. Golden light flared around her palms as she struck Divia's chest several times, each blow barely affecting her. Divia swept an arm toward Celestia's face, but Celestia ducked again. Twisting at the waist, Divia lashed out with her tail and sent Celestia spinning through a door before she crashed to the ground.

Celestia rolled across the floor and stopped in what appeared to be a living room. Overturned furniture and scattered belongings showed that the family had already fled. Tasting blood, she coughed and pushed herself onto her elbows.

"Still fighting?" Divia asked casually, glancing at her hands before looking back at Celestia. "Your light magic can't touch me anymore, and your strength is nothing compared to mine. I may as well be swatting a child."

Celestia dragged herself onto her hands and knees, her ragged breaths broken by blood dripping onto the floor. "Then…Then why haven't you…killed me yet?" She managed, her voice strained but defiant.

Divis's smirk widened, her tail swaying behind her like a serpent. "Because I want you to understand first. I want you to feel what it's like—to be powerless. To realize all your ideals, all that mercy and compassion. Your precious morality…" She paused, looking at her clawed hand. "…means nothing in the face of true power."

"You're wrong…" Celestia corrected. "Power without purpose is just destruction, Divia. And destruction…" She slowly pushed herself up to one knee. "…always consumes itself in the end. You're no different than the Order who parade around claiming purification, when it's nothing but pointless homicides to deliver a message."

"The same as Vel'Andria then…" Divia replied, slightly crossing her arms as she looked down at Celestia. "Your mother was the only hope the kingdom had left." She closed her eyes. "Such a shame she couldn't bring herself to rip it from your father's hands."

At the mention of her mother, Celestia surged up to attack. Before she could stand, Divia stomped her back to the floor. Celestia hit with a thud and grunted in pain, chest heaving as she struggled for air.

"Struck a nerve, did I?" Divia taunted, gazing down at the fallen princess. "What a shame. What would she say if she saw you now, lying there in such a pitiful state?" She seized the half-conscious Celestia by the leg and rose to her full eight-foot height, dangling her upside down with contempt. "Tell me, Princess—with all your bravado about doing the right thing, where has it gotten your sister and the human?" Her cruel smirk widened. Celestia's eyes flew open as blood rushed to her head. Hanging helplessly, she managed only one word.

“…no…”