Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Wish

Vacuo was in ruins. The ancient temples crafted by the magicians of old had crumbled away, leaving nothing but the stench of death and despair behind. A thick layer of silver smoke and the perpetual sandstorm coiled around the two of us–the last remaining survivors of a battle to decide the fate of the world. Behind her were corpses, more bodies than I had even realized there were people fighting. Some were clothed in Atlas uniforms, the pristine white colors sullied with crimson. The others wore royal robes and some donned tattered rags, a rare display of camaraderie between social classes that meant nothing in the end. 

They were all sullied with that same red.

Battered and on my knees, I stared up at the eldritch towering over me, her sickly white face staring back at me impassively. Hot tears streamed out of my one good eye, yet I refused to look away. I wouldn’t let her have the satisfaction. Nor would I have to look right or left then and be forced to see the broken forms of my loved ones.

I coughed quietly, dislodging some phlegm, only to swallow it back down with a grimace. It tasted heavily of iron. Salem refused to comment on such a pitiful display, merely turning over Crocea Mors and examining it under the blazing desert sun. The shield had been lost in the skirmish early on and never recovered. But if it hadn’t been would it have made a difference? Would I have been able to shield one of them? To save one of my precious friends? I supposed it didn’t matter now. My tears flowed more freely, leaving burning trails behind on my skin.

With a small sigh, she tapped the blade of my ancestor’s sword to my pauldron. It clanged out loudly, and I glared at her. She ignored it entirely. “Well, little knight, this looks like the end. Ozma is dead, and the Gods have abandoned us. There is nothing left for me to do.” 

“Fuck you!” My voice cracked, scratchy and worn.

Another wistful sigh. “Yet, somehow this victory feels hollow. It is nothing like how I expected it to be. I feel empty.”

She felt empty? I couldn’t help the deranged chuckle that spilled out of my mouth. After killing everyone, that was all she could say? Everyone I loved was dead. Her allies–everyone I had hated–were dead. Nobody had been spared on this battlefield, and she had the gall to say it wasn’t enough? Gathering the last of my strength, I raised up my left arm, no Aura remaining to help repair the broken bones. The gauntlet had never felt heavier, yet I wouldn’t be satisfied with just this. I wound up, the sun shimmering off of it for one glorious moment, before swinging at her with everything I had left. 

My only reward was the dull thud of it connecting with her shin and my arm falling back to my side. The pain was unbearable, and the blackness that had been encroaching on the sides of my vision threatened to overwhelm me. Still, it had drawn a reaction from her this time. Not the one I had been hoping for, but a reaction all the same.

Salem stared at me, studying my face with her soulless eyes. A hint of a smile played on her lips as she laid my sword down in front of me like it was an offering. “I see you still have some fight in you. Perhaps…” She placed a long, bony finger to her chin and peeled her gaze away from me. She looked up to the sky and laughed, a sound like bones grinding together. “I shall claim the throne of Goddess now that those two fools have fled this world. Yes, that will suit me just fine.”

I spat at her feet. “Go to hell, b-bitch…”

Instead of earning her ire, I only goaded her into more honest laughter. “If that is what you wish, young knight. Although, I’ll be dragging you and your little friends with me. In fact, everyone here shall have a second chance. Never say I am not gracious.”

A rumble shook the earth, and I stumbled, collapsing onto my shoulder with a whimper. I thought she was saying something else; it was impossible to make out what was being said, though. Instead, I was more focused on the sensation of water droplets playing across my back. It was strange since it wasn't the rainy season in Vacuo, not to mention I had full armor protecting my back. I didn’t get to ponder the experience for long as suddenly it cut off, and I was suspended in the air. Without the sand underneath me, I floundered around, desperate to find even that monster. 

There was no one. I was alone in this endless void, which meant Salem hadn’t been lying. This was my own personal hell. Or that was what I had assumed until blinding light pierced the area, leaving me wholly unaware that I was falling.

My face found the ground for me seconds later, connecting painfully with a smooth stone.

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