Familiar Faces in New Places

Mana twirled her hair around her finger. Being locked up in a room all day was incredibly boring and to top things off, Kuria kept poking around in her head. It wasn’t hard to reason why she was only the fourth ranked, though. Mana had successfully walled her mind off from the devil. Unfortunately, that came with an indeterminate departure from such a god-forsaken place.

On the bright side, her room was sizable and full of expensive-looking furniture. In times of great boredom, she’d hang her head over the side of the bed, allowing the ends of her hair to graze the floor. Other times, she’d stretch out until she could touch the ends of a red-cushion sofa with her fingers and toes, occasionally pretending the floor was lava as she jumped from the sofa to the bed.

She wasn’t worried in the slightest. In fact, her magic was strong enough to ward the door off, reinforcing her perceived dominance over Kuria. Mana snickered each time she’d struggle to remove the warding which resulted in painful lashes, but the entertainment was well worth it. Watching Kuria storm off was Mana’s favorite part, however, she had more important things to be doing. She realized that teasing the half-brained devil might not have been the best course of action but being locked up in a halfway point between Omnis and Chiipha wasn't getting her very far either.

“For fuck’s sake, Mana. Either you’re a glutton for punishment or you’re really getting a kick out of reinforcing this door,” Kuria said, jiggling the knob from the outside.

“I’ll admit your lashes are painful, but seeing as I’m currently sitting on this bed, twirling my hair around my fingers… I think your struggling is a great reprieve to my boredom,” she retorted wittily. “You can’t break me and I’m clearly getting under your skin.”

In a rage, Kuria blasted the door off its hinges. Before it could collide with the bedframe or worse yet, her, Mana blasted the oaken door with a fireball, effectively turning it to ash. “That makes what now? Eleven?” Her face was plastered with boredom. She raised her eyebrows as if to say, “Is that the best you can do?”

“You’re such an annoying girl. Why Ahzef assigned me to you makes no sense.” Kuria gasped, realizing her mistake moments after the words left her lips. She smiled wickedly. “That’s probably news to you, isn’t it? Since the cat’s out of the bag now, I might as well explain.”

“Yes, I think that’d be wise,” Mana said threatingly. This could be her chance to get some information on the devils and Lacia’s possible whereabouts.

“Watch your tone with me, girl. Anyways, as you’ve likely surmised, Ahzef is alive. As for your friends—”

Kuria dropped to her knees as a sickening crunch came from her arm as Mana twisted it behind her back. “Where is Ahzef and where,” she twisted her arm further, “are Lacia and Aria?”

“You should’ve let me finish,” the devil said through gritted teeth, “because if you had, you’d still be sitting on that bed.”

Mana returned her attention to the hair twirling, paying Kuria little mind. “Would you like to put that to the te—” Something slammed into her back, knocking the wind out of her as she collided with the back wall. She gasped for air, but her lungs refused oxygen. Her arms were pinned to her sides as a sickening cold crawled over her.

“What was that? You wanted to put my word to the test, right?”

An angry, hot wind caused Kuria’s dress to billow out in translucent sheets of white silk. Her ears popped as the air pressure bottomed out; gravity seemed to pin Kuria to her spot. Mana’s magic flared, exciting the tiny star-shaped mark on her cheek with ferocious fury. Erratic mana chased Kuria’s dreadful cold away as the room temperature soared.

Having regained her breath and composure, Mana slid back down the wall—finally realizing what had happened. Holding a limp arm, she approached Kuria. Anger welled up within her as she considered blasting the devil right then and there, but she feared her anger could weaken her control. She walked through the now-open doorway before recrafting it, sealing Kuria inside as she reinforced the warding.

“I should’ve just blasted you, regardless. Lucky for you though, I have places to be, so I will be on my way now, thank you.” Mana spun a ring of golden keys around her wrist. “You should’ve hidden these better, by the way. Why would you hang them on the bedpost? My mana traces things I can’t see, so I would’ve found them eventually anyways, but you already… knew… that.” The realization struck her like a slap in the face. She flung the keys as far from her as she could, but it was too late. What she had taken for normal keys were anything but. She’d been had. “Dammit! I was careless!”

“I put them there because I knew you’d think they were the keys you needed to escape,” Kuria’s voice rose from behind the door, “but they weren’t. Those keys unlock anything of my choosing and I chose to unlock— Can you guess?”

Blood spattered from Mana’s lips before she could cover her mouth. “When she reversed my post-mana-contraction, she must’ve just locked it away in another part of my body. That damn devil was crafting a ticking time bomb the entire time!” Her eyelids drooped at the onslaught of nausea.

“You’re only half-right,” Kuria snickered as she blasted the door off its hinges again. “I did lock away that awful little condition of yours, but I also imbued it with a little dark energy as a fail-safe. The keys were bait and you fell for it.” She dangled the keyring in front of her. “Notice how there’s a key missing?”

“I will kill you,” Mana warned.

Shadows darted across the stone floor, caressing every flaw in the uneven surface. Mana leapt into the air, attempting to avoid them, only to be caught mid-leap and slammed down with tremendous force.

“Nuh-uh. You’re not leaving, and you will not lay a finger on me.”

From Lacia and Aria’s recount of their fight with Lucifero, she had assumed that the devils’ shadows were confined to the ground only, that they couldn’t reach an airborne target. The pain that erupted across her body told a much different story. Kuria’s shadows held her ankles in an icy vice-grip as she attempted to crawl away, waves of pain rocking her body with every small movement. Broken bones would be the least of her worries. Kuria had her right where she wanted her.

“Let’s make sure you don’t try anything funny again, shall we?” The shadows slowly wrapped themselves around the arches of her feet, ensuring their grip. “We’ll make this nice and clean. If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“Don’t—” Mana groaned. “I’m not apologizing, but don’t break—” A blood-curdling scream spilled from her throat.

“Ooo. That even sounded like it hurt,” Kuria said. That snap was just so clean, though. You should be thankful I made it quick.”

Deep purple and blue bruising spread around Mana’s now-broken foot like the plague. The pain stole her breath away like a brisk winter wind. Torment raced across her face. Tears rained down like waterfalls as they splashed against the floor as her fingers arched the air, clawing at the smooth stones beneath their tips.

The sound of fluttering silk and noisy footsteps edged their way towards Mana. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to listen when spoken to? Now look at you. You reap what you sow I guess.” Translucent white silk fluttered behind her, crouching down, examining her prey like a wild animal. “I’m not like the other three, you see. I like to play.”

Mana’s vision swam as Kuria walked her fingers down her leg. Inaudible whispers embedded themselves in her mind like a hallucinogenic fever. She recalled the broken foot she had when she was little, but the pain she felt now was mind-numbing—incomparable. It pained here even more to know that the devil was enjoying her agony.

An idea sprang into Kuria’s head. She stood up, watching as Mana attempted to crawl away to non-existent safety. Entertaining, but not entertaining enough. She tapped Mana’s broken foot with the tip of her shoe. No reaction. “Then how about this?” She gave her foot a firm kick.

“STOP!! Enough already,” she sobbed, pleading.

“I quite like this begging you’re giving me, but I can’t say I’m satisfied yet. Hmm…” Shadows wrapped around Mana’s other foot like ribbons.

Her fingers trailed traces of blood as Kuria’s shadows dragged her back into the impact crater she’d made earlier. The shadows around her non-broken foot began to tighten—slowly, strenuously. She screamed, half-hoping Kuria would stop, half-hoping someone would swoop in to save her.

“Uggh. Enough of the wailing already, Mana. Hush.” The devil raised a finger to her lips. We could’ve easily avoided all of this if you’d just listened. Did you really think that you could face me down in your condition?”

The lights on the chandeliers above began to flicker. Kuria halted the harrowing twisting of Mana’s foot and turned her attention to the erratic behavior of the chandeliers. The windows rumbled with a phantom vibration before abruptly ceasing. Tension seemed to fill the air causing Kuria’s shadows to retreat behind her.

Despite her worsening condition, even Mana could sense a shift. She took the momentary confusion to crawl away, finding refuge behind a large statue, though the trail of blood she left behind was anything but reassuring.

“Interesting. I wonder what this feeling is,” Kuria pondered. “A dimensional shift? Some kind of teleportation perhaps?”

Dust particles floated nonchalantly in the glimmering artificial light that poured in through the arched windows. Unless the pain was distorting her vision, Mana could have sworn the dust particles had abruptly frozen where they floated, yet the chandeliers overhead still swayed back and forth.

“Time magic? No. This is different,” she pondered. “What’s going on? I’ve never seen such specific influence…”

A steady clock-like ticking sound drummed through the castle. Kuria made a full three-sixty, cross examining every inch of the open aisle. “So… you can freeze time, but you can’t accelerate or rewind it. Now this is interesting.” Kuria paused for a moment. “There is someone here, hidden. Find them,” she commanded as her shadows plunged the aisle into darkness. Devilish tentacles felt around in the dark, combing through multiple spatial dimensions. “If you’re here, I will find you,” she mumbled.

“That’s kind of the point,” a female voice taunted. “If I didn’t want you to find me, I wouldn’t have made my presence so obvious.”

“Are you going to make me guess who you are, or will you come out so we can have a chat?”

“I know that voice, I think,” Mana determined. She peered out from behind her hiding place, hoping to gain a better understanding of the conversation between Kuria and whoever else had mysteriously arrived.

“Oh, that’s right. We still have unfinished business!” A r shadow raced across the floor as it wrapped itself around Mana’s unharmed ankle. “I think for this one I’ll just crush the bone into tiny pieces. A clean break like your other foot just isn’t as much fun.” With Mana firmly in her grasp again, she turned back to the matter at hand. “Her legs are next unless you’d like to—”

A brilliant whip of light struck Kuria across the cheek, searing a charred line across her face. Before the whip could strike for a second time, she side-stepped the attack as the whip struck the ground with a thunderous crack. Kuria’s shadows rushed to devour the new source of rich magical energy, snuffing out the remaining light. “You were warned. Now she will suffer for your mistakes,” Kuria sneered.

Mana inhaled sharply as Kuria’s shadows wrapped themselves around her legs, wound like ribbons on a present. The sound of breaking bones filled her with fresh terror as she struggled to free herself to no avail.

“See, your first mistake was failing to realize I was right behind you the whole time.” A girl about Mana’s age emerged from a gate of light. Her legs donned white leggings, gold trim crisscrossing the fabric in intricate patterns. Silver sandal straps ran past her ankles as a sheer pastel-pink and white dress danced behind her, brushing the backs of her legs with each step. Lace-like white gloves ran from her forearms to a ringed point at her middle fingers.

Mana immediately recognized the light brown curls despite the blinding entrance. There was only one person who made such dramatic entrances—even in the short time she’d known her.

“How—?”

Kuria flung Mana through the air before she could complete her sentence, pinning her to the floor in icy tentacles of shadow as she landed. “I don’t care who walks through that gateway. It doesn’t change the fact that my mission was to return you to Ahzef alive. You won’t be leaving my side, as much as I’d rather just fling you into oblivion,” she said, addressing Mana.

A loud snap arose from Mana’s legs as Kuria’s shadows tightened their relentless grip on her. She cried out in fits of torturous pain, clenching her teeth, struggling to regain enough composure to make a coherent thought. Another audible snap came from her formerly unbroken foot—another clean break. Spots formed in her eyes as her body went limp, still caught in the clutches of Kuria’s shadows.

“I’ve reached my limit,” she thought as her eyelids fell over her eyes. “In the end, I only did this to myself it seems.”

“Hold on, Mana. I made a promise I would get us all out of this. Nothing about that promise has changed and I do not break my promises,” the girl shouted.

Mana opened her eyes a crack, fighting off fatigue and shock. “Then hurry, Aria… I’m fading…”

She quickly struck up conversation in an effort to keep Mana conscious. “You wanna know something funny? I found Lacia in a very similar situation as you are now when I came to save her. It’s already been two years. Can you believe it?” She knew keeping Mana from going under would be difficult. “How I’m going to juggle you and Kuria, I have no idea,” she assessed.

“Aria… Surely, she doesn’t mean—”

“Miruna? If that’s what you were about to say, then you would be correct.”

“How are you even here? You should’ve been annihilated by the Hihoyou!”

“As should have Ahzef, but judging by your awareness of the events of that battle, you played a role in that damned devil’s escape, didn’t you?”

“Us devils are crafty things,” Kuria said, extending an arm defiantly. She gave Aria a wide grin.

“I’ve noticed. Lucifero liked to play dirty, too. It’s too bad he’s not around to tell you how much trouble you’re in. I presume he was a dream-eater which explains how he wormed his way into Lacia’s head,” Aria folded her arms in front of her chest, “but you… What are you?”

“Care to find out?” Numerous needle-like shadows pointed themselves at Aria. “I may have slipped up with this one here,” she said, gesturing towards Mana, “but I’m not so clumsy I’d give away what kind of devil I am. I’ll finish what Lucifero and Ahzef couldn’t!” She launched the needled shadows at Aria who easily deflected the assault.

“At least make this fun for me, devil.”

“It’s that very same cocky attitude that got your friend into trouble,” Kuria whispered in Aria’s ear. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Kuria for even a second. How did she get behind her? “I hate to ruin such a pretty dress, but I think it would look even better stained red.” Kuria thrust her hand through Aria’s back, piercing her stomach. Copious amounts of blood painted her lips bright red as she doubled over, heaving yet more onto the floor. Sneak attacks were the one thing she could do without.

Aria gripped Kuria’s hand the moment she removed it as she choked out a short incantation. “Reviarna.” Kuria leapt to the side, slipping through Aria’s blood-soaked hands, as a blast of wind hollowed out a hole in the wall behind her.

“You’d tear yourself apart just to defeat me? You won’t last long like that, girl,” she snickered. A small trickle of black blood seeped from the devil’s cheek before promptly healing.

“It’s a little uncomfortable, I’ll admit,” Aria said, closing the hole in her stomach, “but just because you worked your way behind me once doesn’t mean you’ll have the chance to do it twice.” She stood up, woozy from the blood-loss. “Shall we continue, or would you like to join Lucifero as a pile of ash?”

“Big talk coming from someone who ran away and hid for two years. Are you sure you want to continue, Miss Miruna?” the devil mocked.

“Mmm. ‘Miss Miruna’ has a nice ring to it. Gives me princess vibes, being in this castle and all.”

Shadows grew from the lengths of Kuria’s fingers into hazy, purple claws. She lurched forward with astounding speed, a blur of inky black as she forced Aria into a dodging-dance. Left, right, left, right. “She knows I can track her, though… Which means it’s not a frontal assault! Her main shadow—where is it?!” Deep gashes raked across Aria’s back. She cursed. “Behind me again?! How?”

“I was right. Red is a good look for that dress,” Kuria teased, “but I’m not through carving you up yet.” The devil’s form dissolved into shadow, seeping through the cracks in the floor, swiping at Aria from below.

Mana called out, taking Aria by surprise. “Send a pulse of mana through the floor and I’ll amplify it!” She was breathing heavily, still wrapped up in Kuria’s shadowy tentacles.

“But you’re in—”

“Just do it!”

Aria hesitated for a moment longer before dropping to the ground. She pressed her palms against the cold stone, sending pulses of mana through the floor. “I get it now. This girl is ingenious!”

Mana took a deep breath, hair standing on-end as if the air were filled with static. She wiggled an arm free. Pressing her own palm against the floor, she released her own amplified mana wave. If their mana was compatible with each other’s, the mana waves would resonate. “Magical sonar. Pretty cool, right?” she smiled weakly.

“It would be if I could find this stupid devil. She’s still below me somewhere…” A cold wind whipped Aria’s dress into a flurry. “I’m not afraid to show a little skin, devil,” Aria shouted. She followed Kuria’s trail of dark magic, but she felt sluggish—like she was wading through waist-deep water combined with the mental fog of jet lag. “She’s after Mana still! Dammit!” She had to warn her, but it was all she could do just to form coherent thoughts.

Kuria’s shadow briefly bobbed above the surface like the dorsal fin of a shark. “You might think you have me bound— Actually, you do,” Mana said, “but I still have enough fight left in me to burn your shadows away.” The shadowy tentacles relinquished their hold. “Not a fan of combustion?”

“She’s burning her binds away. That girl is something else, I swear,” Aria said, shaking off the mental fog.

Eyeing the red carpet that lined the length of the aisle, Mana had a thought. “Kuria has repeatedly avoided that carpet. This better work or I’m dead.” She put her split-second plan into motion. Shakily, she used her arms to lift her abdomen off the floor. “Aria, I’m going to reinforce my legs with mana. I just need you to—” Sudden nausea and disassociation struck her like a blast of hot air as she dropped back to the floor. Kuria was mere feet from her now, but the nausea was potent. “I can’t just lay here! Move dammit!” She lifted herself off the floor once more as her vision swam. Hand to her mouth, she pointed to the carpet and then to herself. “I’m going to vomit,” she thought.

“Yeah, I got it.” She lifted Mana with a rush of wind, moments before a large spike shot through the floor where she’d been lying. She gently placed her on the carpet. “It can’t be that easy, though.”

“It is,” Mana said with a swallow. “She can only surface in an open area that’s unobstructed by other objects. This carpet acts as a barrier. See?” She pointed to the lights on the ceiling. “She uses those lights to create artificial shadows because she doesn’t have an actual shadow of her own. Therefore, because it’s not a true devil’s shadow, it can’t penetrate multiple surfaces—no matter how thick or thin.”

“I should have snapped your neck instead of your foot,” Kuria said as she reemerged from an inky pit in the floor, dissatisfied. “You figured out my secret, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re both at the whim of my mercy,” she jeered.

“Aria, your back,” Mana cried out. The gashes she’d received from earlier were bleeding profusely—the paleness in Aria’s face made it clear she’d lost a lot of blood. “It’s like they’re corroding…”

A needly shadow grazed Mana’s cheek as she barely managed to avoid the attack. “Pay me no mind, Mana. Keep your focus,” Aria said, now breathing heavily.

Kuria’s devilish form raced forward once more as Aria’s eyes darted along with her lightning-quick paces. She thrust her arm forward, palm connecting with Kuria’s chest. “Got you,” she whispered. A blinding eruption of heat and light engulfed the devil. “You’re a tricky one alright.”

A black mass shot from the dazzling beam as it collided with a nearby statue now in a heap of rubble. The shadowy mass piecemealed itself back together until Kuria had fully reformed. “That was a nasty spell. Where did you learn something as troublesome as that?” Kuria hissed, smoke still rising from her body.

“You’re persistent,” Aria said, disappointed. “For your information, I didn’t ‘run away’. After Lacia and I became separated, I scoured the ends of the Earth trying to find her.” Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead—a sign she was overwhelmed. “In that time, I stumbled upon my old home. As you may well know, the Miruna clan was one of the great mage families. My family in particular was responsible for the some of the most powerful, yet devastating, spells in the history of magecraft.”

“What’s your point?” Kuria snapped.

Aria ignored her. “As a little girl, I was told to stay away from books my mother had written.” She opened the palm of her hand as a bound leather book appeared before her. “Do you know what this is, Kuria?”

“I’m not startled by a small book of spells. You gave it your best shot and that’s commendable, but I think it’s time we—”

“This is the Grimoire of Segashino—one of the greatest mages to ever live,” Aria said as she gave Kuria a cold stare.

“You’re bluffing. That Grimoire was destroyed when Lucifero defeated Saint Miruna centuries ago. I personally ensured nothing of that Grimoire remained after I burned it to cinders. How is it that you have it?!”

The pages of the grimoire began to turn on their own, casting Aria in a pale-purple glow. Her hair flurried behind her as mana poured into her body from all angles. Mana watched in awe as the gashes on Aria’s back began to shrink.

“You can negate the poison from my claws, but that doesn't change the fact that I was able to land such a devastating blow to you,” Kuria remarked.

“Mana, I don’t have the strength to beat her in this condition,” Aria telepathized, “and I can see your post mana-contraction has been exacerbated. So, I propose an idea.”

“Does your idea start with ‘running’ and end in ‘away’”? Mana whispered. “Neither of us can beat her right now. Like you said, my post mana-contraction is hindering my ability to perform complex magecraft and with all of these broken bones—"

“Interesting conversation you’re having over there, but I’m afraid neither of you are leaving.” Arrows rained from the ceiling, strategically pinning Mana and Aria’s clothes to the floor, immobile. A large wall of ominous dark clouds rotated around Kuria’s finger as large hailstones fell from within the growing mass. “This might hurt.” Her words were jarring, yet they contained a hint of glee. An infusion of dark magic turned the falling hailstones into several-inch-large icy bullets.

Aria threw up a wall of light to shield from the oncoming volley. “We’re not running—hear me out,” she explained. The Grimoire floated over to Mana. “Take a look at this spell. It’s small, but if we condense a large enough amount of mana into this, it should grow unstable. Basically, this spell requires the caster, or casters in this case, to harness the power of a star.” Mana skimmed the page. “As it grows increasingly unsteady, its power is amplified, though we face greater risk of recoil damage,” Aria explained.

Cracks began to emerge in their defensive shield. It wasn’t designed to withstand a constant volley of attacks. “I have to be in perfect condition for this, Aria. I’m struggling just to fight the nausea back right now.”

“Let’s fix that, then. I learned several things in the two years I was gone, and this is one of them.” She pressed her hands against Mana’s stomach and gave a firm shove. A dark mist scattered from her body as Aria ionized the cloud with a supercharged blast of pure light. It was a good thing Kuria’s arrows kept Mana anchored. She might have accidently sent Mana flying, otherwise. “How do you feel?”

“Way bette—” Mana’s eyes grew to the size of golf balls. The sound of tearing flesh and splattering blood resounded through the castle. Time seemed to devolve into a crawl as she watched fate unfold before her eyes, unable to move.

“NO! You couldn’t have—” Aria stared on in horror as a splash of dark red dispersed across the floor.

“Oh, but I did, Aria. I recall telling you not to underestimate me like Miss Lhumin there. You girls just refuse to listen.” A large, black heap shot out from behind Kuria, absorbing all remaining light like a vacuum. Everything fell into darkness—not even the tiniest morsel of light could escape. “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” the devil boomed in the dark. “Unlike Ahzef or Lucifero, I can freely change my form into whatever I please, but—”

“You talk… Too. Much.” Aria’s voice was harsh and filled with rage.

Kuria smiled. “Looks like I caught you red-handed, huh? Get it? Because your hands—”

A biting chill hung in the air, causing even Kuria to shudder. Frost crept its way around Aria. The stone floor was the first to freeze, becoming a skating rink of black ice. An icy blue crept its way up the cloth banners while the encroaching frost formed crystal-like patterns. No corner of the castle remained unscathed by Aria’s icy rage—even the tips of her fingers had grown red from the cold.

“I live in the cold, girl. This is nothing to me,” Kuria sneered. “Maybe you should be more focused on the enemy in front of you. I won’t kill you, but I’m going to make you wish I had.”

“This is nothing yet,” Aria whispered, a white cloud erupting from her lips. The cold was unabating—numbing. She was the spellcaster, but the chill ran so deep she couldn’t stop herself from shivering.

Cold was a deadly force and Mana had no means of fighting it off, but there was a silver lining, despite the odds being stacked against them. “I think I can slow her bleeding if I make her cold enough. I might even be able to put her in a state of cryogenic sleep—if I can end this devil quickly enough,” Aria said, making eye contact with Kuria as she finished.

The cold continued to expand as frost began to climb the walls, plunging the entirety of the aisle into a deep-freeze. Ice magic was beautiful—it’s cold otherworldly. Still, it was a better option than unleashing a raging inferno in such a confined space. She put herself and Mana at risk regardless of what she chose to do. Countless scenarios tore through her mind, but none of them were the solution to the problem.

“The blue shading of your lips tells me you’re having a rough time. How long do you think you can maintain such a powerful and reckless spell?” Kuria started towards Aria, but the frost was relentless. “I see. You might very well pull it off after all… At the expense of your life,” she exclaimed.

“Enjoy your icy prison for a while, you monster. I have business to attend to.” The frost crept up the devil’s body, turning her devilish-white skin to a pale blue. A final volley of shadows arced out from behind her only to drop to the floor like deadweights, immobilized by the cold. “Any last words for a while?” Aria said shivering.

“You’re crafty. I can’t wait to dissect you later, but I’m patient. How long can you maintain the spell, though?” Kuria hissed as the frost froze her solid.

With Kuria temporarily out of her hair, Aria turned to Mana. “I don’t know if you can hear me right now, but,” she gulped, “I’m going to put your body into a deep-freeze. It’s the only thing I can do to save your life right now. I’m so sorry…”

Mana lightly grasped Aria’s chilled hand, sputtering blood. “It’s my—”

“Don’t talk. You’re losing more blood than your body can afford to lose and the more energy you expend right now, the faster you’re going to—” Aria bit her tongue, afraid to address the elephant in the room.

Mana had been impaled by multiple metal rods. Kuria hadn’t been throwing her shadows around for no reason, but by the time Aria realized it, it was already too late. She had been slicing the chandeliers, turning them into wicked, cylindrical swords. One had pierced Mana’s abdomen, luckily avoiding any major vital areas, but the last two were a bothersome amount more gruesome. One had pierced her thigh and, judging by the amount of blood she was losing, it had likely pierced an artery.

Removing any of the rods would be problematic, though. The final rod was especially worrisome, having inserted itself at an angle between her neck and shoulder. Judging by the angle, Kuria must have tried for her throat but was knocked off-course.

“There’s only one way I can save you,” Aria said, addressing Mana, “but it’s going to take time which is why I have to place you in cold-sleep. This is the best I can do for the moment.” She held her hand tightly as frost crawled down her arm. “Sleep well. I don’t have time to explain, but I swear on my life I will save yours.” Mana’s eyes closed as she fell into a deep, cold, sleep. Frost snaked its way around her body—an icy shade of white.

She’d pulled a fast one on Kuria with a simple parlor trick. It only seemed like she could manipulate time. Her magic was good for more than just combat—she’d been able to fool the fourth seat of the Reverse World, but if she really could control time, she could have frozen Kuria in time—not ice. She’d have plenty of time to reflect on that later though.

Gently, Aria lowered Mana’s hand, allowing it to rest at her side. “Alright. This is the only time I’m going to ask you for help, got it?” Aria muttered under her breath. “Save her. Please. I’ll pay the price, whatever you want—it’s yours.” She closed her eyes as the icy battlefield around her temporarily faded away. Everything hinged on her negotiating skills now.

Aria’s consciousness slammed into a material body like she’d been slingshot by some unseen force. Thankfully, she knew where she was. She tried to open her eyes, but the air was so dry they wouldn’t stop watering forcing her to keep them closed. Likewise, several questions rose to the forefront of her mind, but they would have to wait for later. Penance for power poised her lips.

“I enact a high price for what you’re asking of me,” A disembodied voice snapped.

“I understand that. Like I said—anything.”

Aria’s eyelids fluttered as the voice crept closer, whispering hot breath in her ear. “What are you willing to sacrifice? All to save another human—a creature of which you detested just two years ago.”

Without hesitation, “I will give my memories. There is nothing I can do with such pain and remorse. Do you know how many times I’ve wished I could just forget? You can have them all. I’ve started a new life and I’m happy now. My only wish is to forget the pain of the past and if that means sacrificing those memories, they’re all yours.”

“Ahh, no, that won’t do, I’m afraid.”

“What?”

“While they are quite tasty, what you are really asking of me is the power to defeat the devil before you, is it not?”

“No! That’s not—”

“Give me a piece of your soul. That will satisfy me for some time.”

“My soul? But— What kind of an effect will that have on me? I mean, souls are kind of important, are they not?”

“Are you asking for my help or are you here to waste my time?”

Aria’s face shifted from seriousness to confliction. “I—” She gnawed the inside of her cheek. “I don’t believe I have the power alone to defeat Kuria—not without Mana, but can I really just give away a piece of my soul like that?”

“What is your decision? the voice demanded.

“I don’t have a choice,” she realized. “If I die by Kuria’s hand, there will be no safe place left in the universe. The people I’ve come to love as friends will see their lives needlessly snuffed out—all because I was too selfish to pay the price required of me. Take whatever you need.”

“A wise decision. Open your eyes, Aria Miruna. You have passed.”

Aria’s eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing hazel eyes as grey as the fog before her. For whatever reason, her eyes had stopped watering. Wiping the tears from her eyes, “What do you mean I’ve passed? Passed what?” she asked, confused.

The fog thinned just as her eyes cleared, allowing visible passage of a large serpent-like dragon. “You were willing to sacrifice something so vital as a piece of your soul, willing to sacrifice every last memory you owned, to save not only your friend, but the whole universe,” the serpent telepathized. “That is more than enough payment.” The scaley giant coiled around Aria, still coming to terms with what the dragon had told her. The dragon lowered its head, staring intently into her eyes. “Open your hands.”

She did as instructed. A red and green flecked scale dropped into her palms. It was warm, brimming with a mystical energy, yet there was a sense of loneliness imbedded deep within its core. “There must be something I can offer you in return for this,” Aria said awe-struck. “A dragon-scale… From a god no less—"

“I do not require further payment or offerings.” The dragon gave a heavy sigh. “I have imbued the last of my power into that scale. I am tired and have lived a long, long life. It is unfortunate I cannot see your battle through to the end, though.”

“I thought you were the god of time, though? Chronyu?” Aria’s amazement vanished, replaced by an impending sense of melancholy.

“You are half right, Aria Miruna. Though I am the one who commands time, I am not a god, by your terms. Time itself is not without its limits. It has been a lonely life, confined to this infinite maze of empty space.” Chronyu lowered its head, now level with Mana. “I will grant you the last of my power as you must now be the one who rules time.”

The dragon-scale rose from Aria’s hands. A dazzling array of reds, greens, and deep blues danced before her eyes as the scale shattered into thousands of miniscule fragments, each piece morphing into a pellet of light as they shot into her body one by one. Was control over time itself really something she could manage? How does one “rule time”?

“That power is only in its infancy as you are its new wielder. It must grow and mature as you do. Do not be reckless and abandon common sense. It is easy to alter the flow of time, but it is a monumental task to restore the flow to its appropriate stream if you misjudge its power.”

Aria was stunned. She stared at the palms of her hands in disbelief. Power over time itself—a power like something you’d hear in a story. “Yet here I am, the successor of time itself,” she whispered to herself.

“With great power comes great responsibility. Have faith in yourself and continue to seek growth. In time, you will find time. Good luck, Aria Miruna.” Chronyu laid its head at Aria’s feet and closed its eyes. “I wish I could have made at least one friend after all these millennia, but I am pleased you are the successor to my power. Yes. Now I can rest.”

Her heart broke. Comprehension eluded her. The dragon seemed so genuine. “Chronyu, I will be your friend. I will remain here until you take your final breath,” she said tearfully. “I understand how it feels to be alone. Allow me to do at least this much, as a friend.”

“Thank you. I would like that. It has been a long life, but I am glad this is how it ends—knowing that my time is in good hands…” The dragon’s breathing slowed.

Aria smoothed her hand over the scales on Chronyu’s head. Mixed emotions rebounded through her heart and mind, but they weren’t hers. She closed her eyes, embracing the emotional spillover. “Life must have been so lonely. No one deserves to be cooped up like this, all alone, without even so much as a friend. How can our universe treat such a gentle creature with such disdain and abandonment?” She shook her head.

The dragon’s scales began to turn colors like leaves in the fall: yellows, browns, and rusty oranges. Chronyu had taken its last breath. Time was cruel and relentless—that was the reality of it, but she was sick of watching her friends fall like dominos. Lacia was still missing, and Mana was critically wounded while Brendan and Licht were trapped on Chiipha and Earth respectively. Chronyu’s soul had been hardened by loneliness and she could tell it dreamed of escaping such lonely confinement.

“Would you like to come with me?” She could feel Chronyu’s soul withering away, longing for its last chance at freedom—an escape from a hell where it could only look on. “I will happily bring you along. There’s a whole wide world out there. I mean, there’s technically more than that, but I think you knew that long before me.”

Aria placed a hand on Chronyu’s body once more. A luminescent orange light enveloped the dragon, temporarily halting decay. A fiery vortex sprang up like a geyser, but the flames were cool and pleasant to the touch as she allowed them to be absorbed by her mana. She took a few steps back, beholding the mighty sight of Chronyu one final time.

“Perhaps this isn’t so much of a goodbye as it is a new day dawning,” she said. “You have a beautiful soul, Chronyu, and I promise it will get to see worlds you two always dreamed of.” A gate of light appeared before the dragon’s body as the final few scales were whisked away in a spectacular display of golden fragments. “Let’s go finish this fight and bring everyone home now,” she said addressing the new companion in her heart. “Those memories I so conveniently tried to erase are more than just painful reminders of my past. Thanks to you, Chronyu, I think I can finally come to terms with who I have become.” She took a moment, permitting the melancholic emotions to wash over her before stepping through the shimmering gate.

Flames swept through her like wildfire, burning away the last seeds of imprisonment that had sealed her heart away. Golden steps of light floated in the air as they wound around an ornate stone pillar. The scenery was beautiful; pink and orange clouds concealed a setting sun. If she were an artist, she would paint the picture in front of her, though she decided just a mental image would do.

The backs of her heels made a small pang as she jumped from stair to stair. It felt like a dream. She landed perfectly center on each as if something were guiding her along—some unseen force. Time was different in this space. It flowed faster than on Earth or Chiipha, yet she felt like she was gaining time—there was a lot left to learn about this new power, apparently.

She looped her way around the side of a large floating island to discover it was constructed of the same loamy soil and amiable flora as Earth. It was a heartwarming reminder of what life used to be like, but also a painful lesson of a home she once took for granted. Despite her mixed feelings, she took one final leap onto the earthy plane while the sweet aroma of damp soil and various floral life helped calmed her nerves. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a moment just for herself. For the first time in a long time, she felt like time was on her side.

The stone pillar she saw earlier stood proud, free from blemish or scratch. Upon further inspection, it seemed to be an altar of sorts—likely something used to worship a deity, but why was it here? A stone tablet rested at the base. Out of curiosity, Aria picked it up and began to read aloud:

“Here is where we pay homage to the one who watches over us. Here is where we pay homage to the one who provides. Here is where time rules over us, unabating and fair. We find comfort in our darkest nights through the one who soars above us in the endless skies. To you, the one who holds our time, we gift this offering.”

She gently placed the tablet back where she’d found it and began to examine the pillar further. The dark stone was cool to the touch and smooth like granite. “It must be at least twice my height,” she said in awe. Walking around to the backside of the structure, she noticed small divots, just big enough for a foot, entrenched in the stone. As she began climbing, the final line of the tablet played in her head:

“Whomever you may be, wherever you may be from, please accept our most prized possession as it faces the sky, graced by the glow of our star.”

The holes stopped short of the top as Aria peaked over the edge of the hollowed-out acme. There in the center lay a bracelet, ornamented with a series of lustrous sky-blue stones. She reached a hand over the bracelet, scooping it up before sliding it onto her wrist as she climbed down. It reminded her a lot of the bracelet Lacia had on after her fight with Lucifero.

“I believe this was meant for me. I just wish I could thank whoever left it here, the bracelet being a prized possession as the tablet stated.” Realizing she’d spent more time than intended, Aria quickly scanned the vicinity for any other signs—anything that might aid her in any future endeavors. After determining she’d scoured everything down to the last inch, she took a deep breath—one last whiff of a life she’d left behind. As if on cue, another shimmering gate opened; this one depicting Mana and Kuria’s frozen bodies. She was relieved to see that Kuria had remained frozen, but Mana would need immediate medical attention once she was thawed.

“If I don’t have to use this power yet, it may be of benefit to save it, in case things don’t go as planned,” she thought. “Ok,” she exhaled, “now or never, Aria. You made a promise. You can’t break it now.”

She stepped through the newly opened gate and grabbed Mana. “I bet I can turn back time on these wounds,” she mumbled to herself, “but I think it’s high time we both got the hell out of here. I’m spent and Kuria won’t stay frozen forever.” A bright flash of light and thunderclap later, they were gone—free from the devilish influence of Kuria’s dark aura. “I guess we did run, after all,” she thought.