Chapter 20:
The Red Warrior
Arsec's eyes widened as he heard those words uttered by someone else, for the first time.
So-sha-nim.
The words had been imbued with power with every utterance, yet it had always seemed to be one's imagination. Arsec never got the chance to discuss the nature of his new name with his friends.
"H-how do you know that?" He asked.
Samina smiled as she turned away, her hands clasped behind her back, playfully humming, "How did you know my name if we've never met? Is knowledge something that can only be acquired in the present? Or is it possible to see things from the future and learn from them?"
"Eh..."
Samina sighed as if relieved, stretching her clasped hands up in the air, "I don't blame you though, given the fact that dreams are not something that assail me often. I do recognize the nature of one carrying a message."
Arsec followed her as they delved deeper into the library. He tried to follow her trail of thought, his hand running across his hair in slight discomfort as his eyes betrayed him.
"So this is... that?" Arsec clumsily asked, "These dreams carry a message?"
"Well, it got me to travel from across the sea and into Makeb, and it eventually got you here, yes?"
"But..." Arsec scratched his head, "To be fair, I wasn't even looking for you..."
"Oh? Is that so?" Samina said with a dismayed tone, "Why did you get here then? If not because of the assailing dreams?"
"It's a long story, but I was helping my friend Mesui—"
"You mean the Tulag princess that got here this morning?" Samina interrupted.
"Y-yes, her," Arsec stopped briefly, his eyes furrowing, "H-how much do you know her?"
"Pfft," Samina motioned dismissal, "I just learned from the various servants in the house about a princess who caused quite the commotion at the Palace's main street."
Arsec looked away in embarrassment, "Yeah, I'm afraid that was us."
"And that's why you ended up in the barracks, jailed for a time?"
"Er... yes."
"With that Ogre Paladin and the masked girl. Actually, I'm curious about her..."
"She's a friend," Arsec said, bluntly.
"She looked ready to snatch your head off," Samina noted.
"Ah yes," he remembered with renewed exhaustion, "I like to believe it's the way we bond..."
"Hmm?" Samina said, suspicious.
"I hope."
"What about the ogre?"
"I just met him..."
Samina took all the information in, inhaling and exhaling. Her movements were delicate as she motioned or walked, giving Arsec the feeling that everything she did released energy of some sort.
"Well, this has all been really interesting to learn, So-sha-nim. I'm looking forward to learning more about you as we get to know each other."
"Oh... Please, just call me Arsec," he requested, trying to grasp what she was saying.
"Hmm? I prefer So-sha-nim, it sounds more regal," Samina answered.
"Yeah, you'd be the first to call me that, so I would rather—"
"Is that so? What an honor!" Samina interrupted him, "So-sha-nim it is!"
"But... you called me Arsec for me to come here..."
She shrugged, her cheeks lifting beneath the shawl, "Still... I like So-sha-nim more..."
Arsec rolled his eyes and shrugged. Despite her joyful demeanor, Samina's violet eyes examined Arsec from beneath the veil.
"I have to admit," Arsec said, trying to say something meaningful, "I don't know what to do now that we've met... the dreams were so lucid, so real, and the fact is that you kind of found me first, even before we reached the Library... and now..."
"Library?" she asked, "Surely you mean the Khan's archive."
"N-no, actually, it was a library set on a lush, forested cliff, by the side of a waterfall, it was intricately decorated and carved... it was really a sight to see... I know it's a library because there were books and scrolls of all kinds inside... I usually found you by the entrance in my dreams, sitting and... waiting? I don't know it all faded when reaching you."
"Most interesting," she said, "With me, it was an archive like this, with dark halls dimly lit by rudimentary torches... but don't trouble yourself with that now, So-sha-nim."
"W-why?"
Samina let out a soft sigh. She turned, and with a seemingly reluctant bow, she lowered her head, her shawl concealing most of her expression. Her voice was calm and controlled, the words flowing with practiced grace.
"So-sha-nim," she said again, lifting her gaze just enough for her eyes to meet Arsec’s. "By the hands that guide us, if thee be worthy, I am to be your sword maiden... So-sha-nim."
The term lingered in the air, unfamiliar to Arsec, who blinked in confusion and annoyance at the constant naming.
"Maiden?" he asked, his brow furrowing slightly. "What does that even mean?"
"I am certain, by dreams and revelation, that I am sent by the Purple Gemstone to support the Last Flame of the Dawn in his journey—that is, you, So-sha-nim."
"Me... what?"
"As an Amethyst Spellsword—and the seventh strongest, no less—I am bound by honor and loyalty to the Great Gem. Whatever instructions my liege gives, I am sworn to follow." She clasped her hands together, her eyes steady on him.
Samina straightened, her posture regaining its poise as she explained, though her tone remained enigmatic.
"You are that liege now, So. Sha. Nim."
Her words hung between them, leaving Arsec uncertain.
"Wait..." Arsec said, "I think we need to backtrack a little bit..."
The unwavering gaze beneath the veil of her shawl told Arsec that Samina was completely earnest...
"I've never heard of the Purple Gemstone before... although I am certain it has something to do with the... Red Flame?"
Her eyes frowned, her pupils dilated.
"Don't concern yourself with that, my lord," she said, her voice deepening.
"But...!"
"For now there's just one thing to do," she uttered, getting close to him.
"Hold on—"
Her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist—firm, unyielding. What he first mistook for an act of kindness swiftly turned violent."Sorry, So-sha-nim," she said, her eyes frowning, closing in to his ear, "But the weight of having me as a maiden is costly... I must now be sure that you are worthy of me."
"Samina?"
Without warning, Samina hurled him deeper into the archive. The world around him spun wildly as torches blurred into streaks of light. He crashed into the center of the archive, a grand paved rotunda, his body tumbling across the floor until he managed to dig his hand into the stone to stop himself.
Dizzy and disoriented, Arsec blinked away the shock. None of this was in the dream.
Sword Maiden?
Worthy of her?
Could it be that he had misinterpreted everything?
Was this the trickery of some magic demon? Did those even exist?
When he looked up, Samina was right behind him, her knee hurtling toward him with alarming speed. He barely rolled out of the way in time. Her strike hit the ground with enough force to crack the stone, sending tremors through the room. Arsec scrambled to his feet, his mind racing, trying to make sense of the sudden attack."No, no, wait! What? I did not ask for this! Are you seriously asking me to fight this late at night... In the Khan's library?"
"Prepare yourself, So-sha-nim!" Samina declared, her voice firm despite the knot tightening in her throat. With a graceful motion, she traced a curving line in the air, and a spear with a large arched blade materialized in her hand. She spun it effortlessly around her body before settling into a battle stance. Her eyes fixed on Arsec with steely resolve."Here I come."
Arsec simply gripped his spear as he gulped and steadied his breath. He prepared to channel his powers. His muscles tensed, and he could feel the familiar heat of the flames stirring within him. But just as he was about to summon them, a flare of energy pulsed through his mind, stopping him cold.
Do not fight...Arsec continued, his tone nervous now. "Please! I don’t want anyone fighting my battles for me. I just picked this cape and spear not a while back. I never wanted to be served… I just want to survive, to protect the people I care about. Not to command others in my place."
As conflict boiled within her, Samina seemed to want to let go of her spear. Arsec's eyes lighted up in relief as he exhaled.
But then, her body seemed to move on its own, dismissing all of his words. Arsec noted how her face seemed to fight with her movements, but the body lagged behind her thoughts, as she lunged herself at the human.
Was she all right?
The boy saw the genie girl powerfully leaping, the spear raised skyward. From his experience fighting Voidmaw, he could already sense that the attack would finish him off if he did not move.
Arsec felt the sharp, biting pain of the spear as it pierced through his left shoulder with the speed of a charging bull. His breath hitched, and his legs trembled as the force of it sent him staggering backward. His face contorted with agony, and a small, involuntary gasp escaped his lips. Tears welled up in his eyes, a mix of pain and something deeper, something rawer. He sank to his knees, the strength draining from his limbs.
Samina's eyes, once filled with rage, blinked as if she had woken up from a strange hypnosis, and then she stood frozen in horror, her spear still embedded in his flesh. She stared, wide-eyed, as though she couldn’t comprehend what she had just done. Her chest tightened, and she began to tremble, unable to tear her gaze away from the blood staining his shoulder.
"Why... why didn’t you dodge?" she whispered, her voice thin with confusion and guilt. "Why didn't you move?"
Arsec gasped for air, struggling to find his voice. The pain was unbearable, but there was a determination in his eyes, a flickering light even as they began to dull. “Just as you... follow the Purple Gemstone's will,” he breathed, “I follow the Red Flame’s…”
And then, as the words left his lips, his body gave in. His eyes fluttered closed, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Samina moved to help, her heart pounding with regret and self-loathing, but before she could even touch him, a shadow burst into the room.
"ARSEC!"
Narwa's roar echoed through the archive like a thunderclap. The masked girl stormed toward them, her eyes wild with fury. Samina barely had time to react before Narwa was upon her, swinging her weapon in a vicious arc. Samina leaped back, Narwa's claw missing her by inches, but the air crackled with the ferocity of the strike.
Narwa planted herself in front of Arsec, standing over him like a beast protecting its fallen kin. Her eyes were ablaze, and her body pulsed with an almost primal rage. “Stay away from him!” she snarled, her voice a feral growl. “You’ve done enough!”
The stoat mask's eye sockets glowed with icy blue light coupled with a whistling sound.
Samina raised her hands, desperate to explain, desperate to undo the horror she'd just caused.
“I didn’t mean to—please! I want to help him!”
But her words fell on deaf ears. Narwa’s only response was a bellowing roar as she took a bestial stance over Arsec, like a predator protecting her quarry.
"Narwa! Don't make a noise damn you!" Mesui's voice said, "You'll alert the guards—"
The goblin's eyes widened in horror as she saw Arsec on the ground, Narwa protecting him, and a purple-clothed genie a few meters away with a bloodied spear.
Just at that moment, Ronai reached the rotunda, inarticulate as he tried to make some sense.
"Y-you did this?" Mesui asked, her hand and her cubs ready by the quiver.
Samina noticed this, and she dropped her spear and lifted her hands, "Please, it was all part of a test. He was not supposed to take the hit!"
"Liar!" Narwa roared, "I saw everything, Mesui! She leaped for the kill, I know what a killing blow looks like."
Samina scrambled for words, "No... I... I..."
Her eyes fixated on Arsec, clueless as to why he would do such a thing but at the same time unable to comprehend why she had done that.
Mesui finally aimed an arrow at Samina, unsure of what to do but setting her sights on avenging Arsec.
Ronai prepared his greatsword, taking a stance.
Narwa's wrath finally erupted, and she jumped high into the air, her body twisting with savage power before crashing down with a thunderous force.
Samina barely dodged the blow, but the ground beneath them was not so lucky. The impact shattered the stone floor, sending tremors through the entire rotunda. Cracks splintered out from beneath Narwa’s feet like jagged lightning, and in a heartbeat, the floor gave way.
The library crumbled beneath them, and with a final, deafening crack, Arsec, Narwa, and Samina all plummeted into the darkness below, the rotunda collapsing into a yawning pit. The world spun and fell with them as they were swallowed by the abyss.
Mesui and Ronai rushed to the edge to see nothing but blackness.
"Blasted winds!" the goblin cursed, going back to the library's entrance, "Guards! Guards!
Ronai allowed his eyes to be swallowed by the darkness below, and just as he was about to turn, he saw something that kept him glued to his spot.
Red flames. A blast that dwindled and grew smaller and smaller until it hit a rocky surface. The red flames allowed for a quick scan of the area.
Then, an icy blue light erupted, joining the red flame, it rushed to where the flames burned anxiously, and Ronai let out a sigh of relief in knowing that crazy masked girl at least was close to Arsec.
But then, a violent light ignited in the vicinity, and his eyes shot open.
"Princess Mesui!" he cried out, chasing after the goblin, "There's no time, we have to get down there!"
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