Chapter 24: Sacrifice – Chapter 22: Rimose

GamingWolf

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The figure came into view and headed towards Aperio as soon as it caught sight of her. The Elf for her part simply stayed where she was, feeling confident that whoever was approaching would not crash into her. Or be able to seriously harm her if they did. There was also her newfound instinct that told her it would be fine, but all that did was make her question the choice. If it seems too dangerous I can still dodge. I am faster than them. Probably.

Even though she was able to see the approaching person, Aperio was unable to tell what they were. They wore a brown overcoat that only managed to hide part of the gleaming armour underneath; the greenish-gold metal it was made from was familiar, something she had seen both in the ruins and her previous life. What was it called again? Maybe I can ask them. Her hope to find answers was quickly dashed as she saw the figure draw a big two-handed sword from its back. How did that fit under the coat?

With a fight seemingly unavoidable the excitement was back, eliciting a small, involuntary twitch from her wings. She still had not figured out why she wanted to fight, besides the joy of testing her own power that is. A commotion behind her caused her to briefly flick her attention back towards the group. It might be that Thaddeus was waking up – she could not perceive what was happening inside of the hole she had created in her aura, after all.

What she saw surprised her. The slowness of their actions was something she had almost gotten used to by now, but she found she still marveled at it to an extent. Being able to perceive the world in this way was something she would never grow tired of. Her aura, however, was something that felt quite foreign to her in this moment. It flared out in full force, likely because she was anticipating the upcoming fight. Aperio noted with mild amusement that the bubble of nothing in her aura seemed to be unaffected by her emotional state. Because I am conscious of it?

The group she was with were sluggishly doing their best to prepare for combat. Probably. Ira was leaning on the carriage, looking as if he would like nothing more than to slide down again and continue his rest. The adventurers looked better prepared, both Beastkin and Elf seeming ready to fight while the needle-poking Human was putting tiny stone plates around the unconscious form of Thaddeus. What are those?

Most interesting, though, was the Human she had healed. He seemed to be largely unaffected by her mana that hung in the air, taking a moment longer to react than the others. Taking the bow from his back, he slowly moved behind the carriage. Aperio would have liked to spend some time investigating how he intended to shoot without arrows, but the newcomer was drawing closer – fast.

Having knowledge of what was happening behind her was nice, but it distracted her from the foe she wanted to fight. Hopefully it will be a fitting opponent. Her last bouts had all been resolved in disappointingly short order, and her excitement gained had been minimal at best.

As soon as she focused on more than just the mana that was near the figure, the voices behind her ceased and the mana-fog that was her aura returned to its normal calm. I hope there are books on aura control in Ebenlowe. Or maybe it will become easier the more I practice?

The rapid approach of the sword-wielding figure brought Aperio out of her reverie and back to the present. Judging by how they always adjusted to stay focused on her, and the way they angled their sword, they seemed to want to skewer her. Should I let them?

The feeling in the back of her mind assured her it was fine; no harm would come to her. She was inclined to believe it; if she really was a Goddess – Probably – how could a puny mortal harm her? The more rational part of her mind cried out, telling her that it would end her life. Rob her of her newfound freedom. What if that is a God? For now she would not let herself get stabbed, as she could always test her presumed sword immunity later.

It only took a few more breaths before the figure was close enough to prove that her hunch was right. A step to the side removed the possibility of being sword-skewered and, with a strong punch to the back, she sent her attacker into the ground. So I am not the only one who is sturdier than stone. The fact that she had just used her bare fist to punch an armoured person and felt no pain only managed to briefly take hold in her mind before it was replaced with the image of a sword that aimed for her neck.

Leaning back, letting the sword pass over her, Aperio was surprised by her ability to perform such a movement and the speed at which she had done it. She had known she was a lot faster than someone should be and had assumed she would be able to dodge, but actually doing it made the action seem a bit absurd.

Aperio was not the only one confused as her attacker hesitated after their first two misses. Whoever it was did not seem to be used to others dodging their attacks so effortlessly. How do I even know how to move like this? She had never thought about where she should move to in order to avoid the weapon; she just did. Her life as a slave had taught her how to behave in a court setting, how to be a proper servant – absolutely no training in swordsmanship. And yet, here she was, uninjured in a fight against a foe who could have killed her in an instant before she had been sacrificed.

Their dance continued, Aperio dodging the sword as it tried to cut her. Her attempts weren't graceful and efficient, they were clumsy at best and only worked because of her raw speed. She was constantly alert for the potential of her foe to switch to a magical attack, but they were either unable to use mana or simply did not know the right use for this particular fight.

Aperio found herself enjoying the encounter, even though it was not a fight as she had hoped. Whoever was attacking her was a skilled swordsman to her eye – not that that meant much – but they were simply outclassed in terms of speed and strength. If it wasn't for them trying to kill her she would commend them for their efforts. Maybe I can get Laelia to fight this one? It would be a good opportunity to learn, but also required her to resolve this peacefully, something she doubted she could manage.

The sword came at her again, but this time it seemed to shift mid-swing and suddenly veer towards her stomach. Instead of taking her usual dodging option to avoid the strike, Aperio took a daring step forwards and grabbed hold of her attacker's arm. The metal of their armor groaned and bent as she tightened her grip, and as blood started to flow from a wound somewhere on her opponent's limb the sword slipped from their grip and fell ungracefully to the ground. First blood!

Her attacker did not scream or yell in pain, but instead used their free hand to punch her abdomen. Aperio tilted her head at her foe – she felt little of the onslaught. How is that possible? She could feel the silky smooth fabric of her dress brushing against her skin just fine, but the punches of an armoured fist barely registered in her mind.

What did register was the dagger that had replaced the fist. For all her speed, Aperio had let herself get lost in thought and had to pay the price as her attacker thrust the blade towards her.

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The unmistakable sound of something breaking caused Aperio to look down. Her dress was ruined, no longer offering much in terms of modesty, but that was of no concern to her. Not when she saw a hilt with a broken blade in the hand of her attacker and pieces of metal on the floor. She could also see a tiny cut on her abs, the wound already closing and leaving only a thin line of fresh blood on her skin.

She looked at what remained of the dagger. It was made from the same greenish-golden metal as the armour and sword. So it can cut me, but not much. A smile spread across her face as she looked at the featureless helm that stared back without emotion. Aperio wanted to punch her foe with rage and abandon like they had done with her, but the image of her fist piercing through the mage flashing through her mind stopped her. They would not be able to answer questions if they were dead.

With her free hand she grabbed hold of the helmet of her attacker, the metal shrieking as it deformed under her fingers. The figure tried to free themselves from her grip, but only managed to cut their arm with the jagged pieces of their broken armour.

Taking off the helmet required more effort than she had anticipated, though that was mainly because Aperio was more concerned with not killing the person underneath than being quick. It's not like they can go anywhere.

Holding her enemy by the throat and carefully prying yielded better results. Once she had successfully removed the helmet from her foe, she found a youth staring at her with black hair, eyes gleaming with unconcealed hatred. Is she young, or does she just look young? How are you supposed to tell?

"Why did you attack me?" Her question caused the woman – girl? – to clench her teeth, much to Aperio's delight. She liked the ethereal quality of her voice and what it did to others. Am I becoming a narcissist? The pain the woman found herself in, if it was not an act, was her own fault; Aperio would not lose any sleep over it. Literally.

"You are an abomination! You do not belong!" Her voice was strained, the effort she put in to talk clear. She can barely speak, why did she think she can kill me? ...did she know she would lose?

"Belong? Where?" Aperio chose to ignore the insult for now; punishment would be handed out once she had her answers. Was I right that I was never supposed to have left the Void?

"I will not answer your questions, beast! Die like Natio has decreed!"

Beast? I am an Elf with wings, not a Beastkin. And who is Natio? Are they related to the mage, maybe? "And why did they do that?"

Instead of answering, the attacker-turned-captive redoubled her efforts to free herself, trying to punch Aperio again. Nothing had changed from the first time she had tried. Are all youths brats now? A light jab to the chest caused the woman to cough up blood. "Answer the question." Should I just kill her?

Something in the woman's demeanor seemed to have broken. She began to laugh, and to cough up more blood. "You dare question a God?!" she declared, face stretching into a manic grin. "You are an abomination!" She dissolved into wet, coughing laughter again, bloody spittle hitting Aperio in the face. Before a rational response could even begin to be formed, the Elf reacted.

A blue flame spread from Aperio's hand. For the first time since their encounter, the woman screamed as it rapidly engulfed her like a wildfire. The thoughts came unbidden to her mind. She will burn for her sins. I will cleanse this world of her rotten self, rip her very soul from her body and squash it. How dare she defile me! She can't even begin to comprehend what I am! Judgement is mine to pass, not some random God who up and decided that it was their job!

She let the limp body fall to the floor as the the moment ended as abruptly as it had started, returning her mind to its usual state and leaving her thoughtful. What was that? It had felt right, in some way, and she found herself dwelling on the fact. Is that what I'm supposed to do? Judge people? ...Judging people... She rolled the potential title over her tongue, speaking it silently. Goddess of Judgement. No, that's still not right. While she still wasn't sure of what exactly her Domain encompassed, she felt that she was on the right track. But what of the Void? It needs to be included somehow, but how exactly does it fit in?

As the last of the corpse's limbs found gravity's stopping point, a particular warmth she had not felt since she had first arrived in the Void flowed through her. She took a blink's worth of time to focus inward on herself. Instead of the slow waves of inexorable change she had become accustomed to, her body was suddenly back in a state of repeatedly being broken and reforged. This time, thankfully, there was no pain. Only the pleasant warmth. Did I… take her strength? Were all those lights...people? Sinners? She shook her head in disgust at herself – it wasn't like her to lose her temper because of a little bit of blood splatter on her person. Why am I so appalled by this? I have been through worse.

Aperio could not find any remorse about her actions. The woman had been out to kill her. Neither could she find herself caring about the countless others that had died, if all of those tiny blue lights had indeed been people. The people she had cared about had died long before the ritual was carried out.

With another shake of her head she turned to face the people behind her, ignoring the looks she got from them. Instead, she headed straight for Ira. Aperio had finally had enough of stumbling about in the dark. She looked at him pointedly. "I want answers."

GamingWolf

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