20/06/337

Audra

It was as soon as that man had walked into the bakery that everything went off. Every single instinctive alarm Audra had naturally, and spiritually, put into her was blaring louder than any other danger she had been in before. She did her best to ignore the voice coming from her reflection in the window but doing her best to ignore the voice wasn’t going to be enough.

“Let me take over now! I want to kill this bastard like he killed me!” Her Ascender screamed from the window behind her, Audra felt every one of her muscles tense.

“Stop doing that! We’re in public, if you’re going to force my body to attack someone could you at least wait until we’re not in the view of anyone?!” Audra pleaded to the soul of Kalano’s chosen warrior. She was met with unrivaled malice.

“I will do what I want when it comes to that bastard!” Her ascender yelled. Audra had barely realized that she was turning to stare directly at Noelem as he slowly backed away from her while still ordering a pastry. He didn’t seem scared, he seemed worried if anything. He looked nothing like the beast that her ascender had showed her memories of.

Shena stared cautiously at Audra, Vasuki shook her shoulder. Noelem held his hands out cautiously.

“Listen to me, you don’t want to do this.”

“Bullshit, I-” Audra said, her ascender was getting through her. She put her hands up to her head, pain searing through her.

“Stop this, Lu….Lu.” Audra felt more and more weight on her shoulders.

“Lusa-” Noelem started, but was interrupted by Audra clamping his mouth shut. It wasn’t her own action, this was the anger of her ascender breaking through soul and body.

“My name isn’t yours to say.”

“Look I don’t know what the fuck is happening here but can you two take it outside?” Shena asked.

“Audra...what’s going on?” Vasuki asked.

Audra’s body acted on it’s own, she sent a left hook into Noelem’s jaw forcing him to stagger. Audra’s possessor delivered a downward kick onto his left shoulder, he grunted in pain as he fell to his knee.

“Come on Descended, is this what you have fallen to!” She yelled kicking him forwards, right out of the door. Each hit Audra felt a strange power going through each of her limbs for only a second, but it was more than enough to create a surge of strength coursing through her.

Audra tugged at the controls of her body.

“You need to stop!” She ordered.

“You aren’t part of this!” Her Ascender yelled. “Let me take care of my unfinished business.” Audra was mentally shackled as her ascender took control of her body.

Audra felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Let her go.” Vasuki ordered, he had finally put two and two together. Audra turned and back handed him.

“You’re lucky kid, I’ve killed for less.” She said as she walked towards the door of the bakery.

Noelem was on one knee, rubbing his jaw. A guard approached him as Audra walked out of the shop. The guard began to pull out his weapon, before Noelem held his sword in his scabbard.

“I don’t want anyone to interfere, her body is possessed by someone from the past. She won’t cause any damage or harm anyone here. I’m her target.” Noelem said.

“How cute, the creature that pushed humanity to near extinction doesn’t want to hurt anyone?” She asked mockingly.

“That life is past me, I no longer bend to the bloodlust I was made with.” Noelem claimed.

“Like I give a damn what you have to say.” She said. Light began to swirl around her as she readied Audra’s sword. She flinched and her legs began to shake.

“This feeling...what is this pain?” Audra asked.

“My Etherea, it’s too much for your body. As the offspring of an Ancient I never had to worry about it, but it seems if I keep this fight going your body will breakdown. I’ve already submitted that Noelem has won, but I can still rub salt in the wound.” Her ascender quickly explained.

Noelem rotated his shoulders and smoke began to billow off of him, the guard began to back away.

“You and I both know her body can’t handle your power.” He claimed. She ran forward and swung her blade at his head, he caught the blade and pushed it aside. Each and every attack she threw at him was met with aggravated pacifism.

Kalano’s warrior swung horizontally at Noelem, mid-swing everything around her faded from existence, as if the only thing in the world was her, darkness enveloped everything else from sight. A full half second passed before everything went back to normal, Noelem barely had time to catch the sword in his hands.

“New trick?” He asked, panting.

She delivered a left hook into his chest, his eyes went wide as power erupted from her left arm. Audra didn’t see what happened next as she felt her feet go out from underneath her, and something catching her before she hit the stone ground beneath.

Memories flooded her head, not the normal memories Audra was used to seeing. She was looking through her ascender’s eyes, she sat on the edge of a cliff. There was a man sitting next to her, he had light gray hair. His left leg and arm, including his hands and feet, were covered in silver scales giving them a more claw-like appearance, they seemed to always release a cold aura. His eyes were a bright blue color, unnaturally so. He wore a sleeveless shirt and black trousers that were ripped on his left leg.

“What happens after all of this?” He asked.

“We celebrate, then rebuild civilization.” Her ascender replied. “We can only take a few moments to relax.”

“Then I’m glad I get to take these few moments to relax with you.” He commented. She felt a smile go across her lips.

“You’re such a flirt, Boreal.”

There was a pause between them, one without anxiety, without the blood of demons and humans being spilled.

“The sun sets on another day.” She pointed out. The water beneath the cliffs began to stir. “What news you got Faust?” The water below them erupted and a black serpent appeared before them, it’s pale purple eyes met her own.

“Noelem and his troops are resting, though it seems they intend to head East across the sea into Sterndale.” The serpent said, his voice was deep and seemed to have it’s own personal echo.

“He probably intends to finish it off. Though he doesn’t stand a chance against Surrir and her battalion of Dragons. Not to mention her daughters. He knows there are scouts he’s probably trying to throw us off, or he’s gotten bold.” She thought aloud, she looked up to Faust. “Thank you, get your rest.” She said standing, the man following suite. She began to walk off when she felt Boreal’s talon grab her wrist. She looked back to him, puzzled. He pulled her into a tight hug.

“Don’t die, Lusalene.” And just like that the memory began to fade.

Audra opened her eyes to find she was laying in a strange, yet comfortable, bed, she felt exhausted, a cast wrapped around her left arm.

Time seemed to crawl at a snail’s pace. The room spun around her while she tried to get her bearings she heard a knock on the door. She looked in the general direction of the sound, to her left, and saw a man walk in, he looked an awful lot like Boreal from Lusalene’s memory, she blinked and every fuzzy detail she had of him changed to the man that had been with her since the beginning.

“You okay?” Vasuki asked.

“Her name...is Lusalene.” Audra said weakly.

“I know, Noelem told me everything,” Vasuki placed his hand on her arm. “You’re experiencing Etherea Fatigue, it’ll take a while for you to recover.”

“Noelem...he’s a demon.” She said between breathing.

“I know, he’s helping us. Rest up Audra. We’re safe.” He claimed. Audra didn’t have the energy to question anything, so instead she slept.

The lake awaited Audra’s dreams. Her reflection sat on the dirt beneath the tree. She was looking at her own reflection in the water, something Audra didn’t have.

“I think I deserve an apology.” Audra claimed. Lusalene smiled and closed her eyes and chuckled to herself, as if she remembered a funny joke.

“Yeah, you do.” She looked at Audra with the color of sunset swirling inside of her eyes. Her brunette hair quickly faded to a bright orange. Her skin was warm and radiant with the power of divinity.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself,” She said, coming to a stand. “I am Lusalene Nuul, daughter of Nuul, The Infinite One, and Chosen Warrior of Kalano. I led the army of man, alongside the ancients against the Demons in the War of Dominion. I am your ascender. And I’m deeply sorry for taking over your body to satisfy my own anger.”

By the time Lusalene had finished apologizing she no longer donned Audra’s form. She was slightly shorter, her hair swayed to her mid-back. A scar decorated itself over her left eye. Crystalline scales covered her right arm, three of her fingers had been replaced by talons, impossible to achieve without losing them. She wore a black shirt that fit tightly against her muscular body. Audra could see they both had their own reflections.

“Don’t do that again.” Audra ordered.

“Only if you want me to.” Lusalene added. Even if Audra did want her to take over her body she really didn’t want to feel the affects of Etherea wracking her body.

“We’ll see.” She lied. She really didn’t want that.

???

The young woman lay on the stone floor, blood seeping from the injuries on her back. She didn’t bother looking at the hooded figures as her guard unlocked her cell and let them walk in, standing over her.

One of them spoke in a nonchalant voice. “We need more of your blood.” He demanded, pulling her frail body off of the cold stone floor by her arm.

“Why?” She asked, almost in a whisper.

“To be like you, Liz Agano,” Liz’s eyes narrowed. It was the first time she was getting a real answer from them. “We wish for immortality so that we can be one with Runahera.”

“Your goals are pointless.” She replied before screaming as the man plunged a short sword deep into her chest, she was breathless for a while as two other hooded figures collected her blood from the injury.

Once the jars were filled she was dropped to the floor and given a small bowl of food to help herself recover. The three of them left her cell and her guard locked it back. After eating the cold porridge she felt the hole in her chest begin to fill until no evidence of it remained.

Liz crawled to her bed and for the first time, in Maker knows how long, she smiled as she hid the key she knew that man would have. She pulled more porridge from under her bed and secretly ate bowl after bowl that she had stored up under her bed. It wasn’t much but she could feel her energy coming back to her, even if it was just a short surge, she could still use it to hopefully get through the barrier and reunite with Erefus, then kill every single monster in here. There would be a good two hours where she didn’t have a guard. That was when she would make her escape. Their death would be what they get for underestimating her.