A kaleidoscope of colors exploded across every meter of the draconic amalgamation, finally bringing the demon to its knees after days of magical and artillery barrage. After the lights fizzled against the consuming darkness, heliotrope light slashed through the demonic dragon like a brilliant star tearing across the fallen night. The radiant purple of the woman’s magic fearlessly cut from neck to heart to thigh, eliciting a dying howl from the dragon that ricocheted across the torn landscape.

As the beast buckled under its colossal figure, the woman spiraled toward the shredded terrain below. Cavernous lands cleaved by the demonic dragon filled her sight. She closed her eyes. Whistling wind wrapped around her free-falling body, wiping the fresh blood away. Lavender light blossomed around the woman’s body, encasing her in an elliptical shield before she struck earth. The protective veil broke upon impact and she rolled to her hands and knees as she staggered to her feet and gazed at the scene before her.

Black particles from the dissipating dragon tumbled about in the sizzling air emanating from its corpse. The ashen sky was mottled with grey-blue peaking dimly through the dragon’s shattered haze. Thick rain abruptly gushed forth and doused the remaining flames of war, heralding its end.

The woman bent over, placing her hands on her knees for support and drew a long breath. Her eyelashes fluttered, trying to clear her foggy vision. Rather than exhaustion, relief and disbelief swarmed her body. She had gambled countless lives, including her own, and lost as many in the last strike. While it had paid off, the perished could never return.

The weight of the sword strapped to her back felt suddenly heavy. She clumsily grasped for its handle and hauled the sword from its sheath. Holding it with two hands, her lavender orbs peered at the weapon which had been her safety net should her final attack fail. She didn’t want to bring it with her, much less waste it against the demonic dragon, but Caelen was adamant. She couldn’t argue against those imploring eyes clouded in despair.

But now, the once unknown future had become clear and unobstructed. Nothing else stood in their way for a new world. She chuckled humorlessly under her haggard breath. Her old enemy had inadvertently helped them against their new adversary, but not without cost. An old face resurfaced, and her expression hardened at the memory of his last words. Was this your plan all along? She wondered chillingly and subconsciously gripped the sword tighter.

“Essairyn.”

She straightened and turned toward the speaker, a woman similarly geared for battle with long, snowy hair tied in a loose braid.

“Cyrienne.”

The two women stared wordlessly at one another, mutually sharing and understanding the significance of this victorious moment.

“Everyone is waiting for you.” Cyrienne smiled gently, breaking the heavy silence. “You did it, Sairyn.”

At her heartfelt words, Essairyn’s vision clouded with thick tears. “Cyrie––” She choked on the rising emotion in her throat. “We did it.” She hugged the sword close before stepping forward to embrace Cyrienne with outspread arms.

“Thank you.” Cyrienne whispered fervently as she held Essairyn tightly. “I can now see the future because of you. I can’t keep fighting the past…” She withdrew, holding her at arm’s length. “But I don’t need to now.” She dropped her hands and laughed softly. “It’s been too long of a time….”

Essairyn inclined her head thoughtfully at Cyrienne’s wistful determination. She couldn’t imagine what sort of emotion and internal struggle the millennia old goddess had endured. Although their wishes were now aligned since their initial dispute at first meeting, Essairyn was never quite sure what was on her mind despite them sharing an unintelligibly deep connection.

“This sword…” Essairyn looked at it with firm eyes before shoving it into the other’s hands. “You take it, Cyrie.”

“Wha..?” Cyrienne laughed in surprise.

Essairyn smiled as she handed her the sword’s sheath from her back. “What? It’s yours anyway. Besides, the final step will have to wait until after we clean up this mess.” She sighed at the wreckage surrounding them for miles before shrugging and walking back to base camp. “Well, I suppose it’s technically not our duty, haha.”

Cyrienne chuckled, moving to sheathe the sword and follow behind.

“Ryn.”

“Hm?” Essairyn turned around at the stoic tone, wondering why she had called her that instead of the usual ‘Sairyn.’

Rich lavender illuminated Cyrienne’s face as she spoke.

“Do you remember me?”

Essairyn stared at Cyrienne wide-eyed, hearing only the sound of her heartbeat thrumming wildly as it registered the sword now impaled through her chest. Immobilizing pain seared throughout her body, but no blood seeped from her torso. And only one thought from her stunned mind slipped from her dry lips.

“…Why?”

Cyrienne smiled and tapped the hilt lightly, sending Essairyn toppling backward. As she fell, Cyrienne dug the blade deeper, pinning Essairyn to the ground. Desperately, Essairyn inched her fingers toward where the sword met her body while trying to understand the ludicrous situation. For what reason was she doing this? And now of all times? Essairyn’s bewilderment was only surpassed by the deepening misery of betrayal.

“Then,” Cyrienne began slowly as she bent down, her hair now loose from its braids. “Do you know who I am?”

Luminous purple now enveloped them both as the sword’s glow billowed turbulently, sending shocks of expanding energy outward. This strange reaction from being stabbed added to Essairyn’s astonished confusion. She could hardly register Cyrienne’s voice as she struggled against the magical influxes permeating her senses to numbness.

“Who…you are..?” Essairyn murmured, unable to fathom how this could possibly be the same person that she knew and trusted.

A stray tear slid inconspicuously from the corner of her eye as her last memory from Earth before appearing in this world flooded her mind like a movie vividly flashing before her eyes.

Blue light flickered to black as I exited the bus tracker app while simultaneously shutting off the phone screen in slight vexation. Peering aimlessly through the water-speckled glass that twinkled like falling stars with the passing of cars at night, I listened as rain burbled along the peripheries of the roof, drumming a harmoniously discordant rhythm. I could make the next train if I walked to the station, but the current spring shower was discouraging.

A black and white umbrella anxiously swung by my side. To go or not to go? The weekend enticed and tomorrow’s work called. Restlessness settled in, and the cacophony of the rain hushed to a sibilance––the sudden spring shower was nearing its end. A signal to walk.

I swiftly strode out of the campus lobby and unfurled my umbrella, beginning my usual route with one mildly irritating exception. I would have to cross over the four lane street where the sidewalk was closed due to construction and then return back to my usual side. The gentrifying city always had some new building arising out of the rubble of an old one. But while the city changed, my life remained the same.

Work at school, work at my internship, work at home. Work was always on my mind, even as I leisurely walked while planning ahead for the evening and next day. I was always working, working for something else rather than myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I caught up on the latest music or movie, or read or did something purely for fun. Dusty canvasses and palettes had piled in my corner of abandoned art, the last piece dating from high school.

What happened to those days where the world promised endless opportunity and tomorrow was assured to bring new wonders? Back then, the day and future felt truly magical and boundless. But the inevitable reality crept up unexpectedly, and I soon became aware that I had actually been cycling through the same sequences for years. This so-called living became a chore.

Tilting my chin and umbrella up, I gazed at the hazy cityscape awash with watercolor hues. The glares of the vehicles and downtown lights bounced off the rain and slick streets. The whizzing and honking of passing and distant traffic melded into the susurrant symphony of the fading downpour. Whenever it rained, it felt like the world became still. I could only hear the sound of the rain pattering, echoing on the surfaces it spilled onto… All other sounds are thrums in a far off distance, and the sounds I made seem to be amplified.

The light in my eyes dulled as my cynicism continued. For all my internal grousing, I had been born into this lot, and I had chosen to stick with it too. Call it societal pressures and a well-groomed conscience since childhood, I hadn’t made any real effort to chase after my dreams. I reasoned with my inner self that I couldn’t abandon my responsibilities and the most important people in my life just to satisfy my selfishness. This lack of ambition, no, this suffocation of ambition hindered down by realizations of my true reality and tucked away as if I had none perhaps had started since that day…

I arrived at the block of the building being constructed. Metal side bars with lumber planks as roofing extended for a few paces on the sidewalk before it was blocked off completely. Instead of going through the walkway, I walked on top of the outside curb to the makeshift crosswalk at its end. I had never gotten rid of this childish habit of mine. It was something about walking on a usually untrodden, possibly risky, higher path that made me want to balance my steps and feel like I was a little closer to the sky. I even entertained the idea of traversing the short span around the construction by walking on the road itself.

However, cars in the closest lane would have little room to pass me by without crossing over onto the next. I wasn’t keen on causing a traffic jam or being close enough to a car for someone inside to swipe me right off the road. Such incidents could occur in this large city with crazy drivers and a past history of sporadic hoodlums. Of course, if anything actually happened, I was assured I could distract or whack offenders with my umbrella and possibly execute some nasty kicks before escaping… These ridiculous what-if scenarios always popped up in my head. Maybe it was just my way of adding a layer of excitement to an otherwise ordinary life.

Halting my wild imaginations, I scurried across the lanes before the red light turned green. I knew I would make it, but I still breathed an inward sigh of relief when I reached the other side. Although I had seen this side of the street every day, the unfamiliar walk was a little thrilling, like I was exploring a new part of the city. I reveled in the fresh perspective and soon reached the end of the block. The walking light to go straight was red, and the cars kept coming this time.

Perhaps due to the rain, it felt like I paused by some natural force of the world instead of the light or traffic. Like a brief respite from the stresses of life, my thoughts wandered. It was a moment of reflection, a quiet contemplation of the world around me. I only heard myself, as if I entered another world that was somehow more serene, and clear…

The light was green. I walked straight across, but once I hit the sidewalk, I wondered why I hadn’t instead crossed back to the other side like I had planned. But as it didn’t matter in terms of distance or time to catch the train, I shrugged it off. I actually rather liked this new side of the street, this blunder wasn’t so bad.

Enjoying the continued fresh perspective, I soon approached the last crosswalk to the train station. Before reaching it, I scanned the traffic on both sides. It was clear with cars stopped at a red light another block down. The crosswalk light on the other side of my block was flashing red and counting down from eight. Even though I only had a few paces to the actual crosswalk lines, it seemed pointless to waste a few seconds to properly cross the street. So, I walked diagonally to the opposite side.

Five seconds.

I wouldn’t beat the clock to the other side, but it didn’t matter since I would arrive before the ensuing traffic.

Three seconds.

I almost felt competitive as I picked up my pace to finish before zero. I knew I still wouldn’t make it; I don’t know why I made this silly game on the spur of the moment. Perhaps I was yet again adding another fictional layer of excitement to my life.

Two seconds.

As my lids transiently closed in a blink, I wondered if in wistfully wishing to return to the past, my pent up imagination needed somewhere to vent. But it didn’t matter as I had given myself a losing game as if subconsciously quelling such wishes and frivolous envisages.

Zero.

Suddenly, the rain departed swiftly, and I opened my eyes. Like swiping fog from lenses, I was struck by the sudden vividness of the world with only its opalescent shimmer to remind me of the fleeting spring rain…

“Cyrienne.” The goddess's name slipped softly from Essairyn as images of her distant past faded away with a blink.

She looked down at Essairyn ruefully. “Yes?”

Shivering hands gripped the sword’s blade as strange sensations started surging through Essairyn’s body, causing her fitful mind to spin in confusion while still clinging to some blind thread of false hope. The life she had left behind for her new one couldn't possibly be lost like this. She wouldn't let the years of struggle and self-agony end over this mockery. But before she could utter another sound, her murky vision further blurred, and her words departed as a voiceless last cry.

Who are you?

Cyrienne lifted an eyebrow in staged surprise. “You still don’t know?” She smiled brilliantly and leaned forward, whispering to a girl who could no longer hear.