Ascilia, Scion of Light

The earth and stone shuddered beneath Ascilia’s boots, smoldering ash trickling down upon the wind, gracing her cheek with its stinging warmth. The sounds of cascading water rang about her ears as the ocean overheard rained down upon and around the ruins of Radz-at-Han. Amidst it all were wisps of black-gray smoke, the telltale sign of Ahewann’s impending transformation. To hesitate now might spell the end of countless lives.

Yet trepidation welled within herself, and her concentration began to waver.

Before her knelt the voidsent Garmr, a towering golden hound. Her body shimmered with the wind, her soul half-faded as it coalesced into a violet crystal between Ascilia’s palms. Yet she was still here. There was still hope for her… so long as Ascilia stayed her hand.

“... Now is not the time for reluctance,” Garmr chided, her voice firm in spite of her fading soul. “Thine allies await thy return. Prithee, hasten mine end and rejoin the fray, lest thy souls be consumed utterly in the wake of a newly born blasphemy.”

“I’m sorry. I know I agreed to do this, but…” With a soft sigh, Ascilia lowered her head in shame, averting her eyes. “I just can’t seem to bring myself to do this again. I can’t bring myself to take another life in vain.”

“Bit of a bleeding heart, ain’tcha?” asked Curlax, rolling their eyes as they zoomed through the air beneath her gaze. “Just a moment ago you and the big mutt were enemies. What makes you think she won’t kill you if you refuse?”

“That lunk head’s got a point,” Moebius chipped in, their gossamer wings beating close to her ear. “Back when she was Cerberus, she had to be kept on a pair of tight leashes, else she’d snack on anything that moved—voidsent or otherwise.”

“Must thou bare my shame so carelessly?” Garmr complained, shaking her head. “But nay. Though well intentioned, thy worries are misplaced. I will not bring harm upon your master or her allies… so long as my will remaineth mine own.” Then, leaning forward, she gently pressed a hooked claw into Ascilia’s cheek. “Nevertheless, ‘tis better to unburden thy guilty conscience sooner than later. Speak thy mind, child.”

With another sigh, this one far heavier than the first, Ascilia moved to grasp the claw. They hardly had the time for this, but if it would set her mind at ease, she saw no reason not to bear her heart to her would-be ally. “In what feels like a lifetime ago, I sacrificed my living flesh and bound my soul to Hydaelyn, that I might serve as a vessel for Her will. And though She soon regained the strength needed to survive without my aid, I was then sent across the rift between worlds, that I might intervene to save a world from a fate precariously close to your own.”

At this, Laragorn tilted their head and furrowed their brow. “Wait, you’ve been to another world before?”

“What would that make her, a lightsent?” asked Curlax, before leaning in to sniff Ascilia. “Ehh, that’s more floral than light…”

With a sudden slap of their hand, Moebius reprimanded the fiery sprite. “Cut that out! Do you have any idea how rude—”

“Carry on with thy crude antics at thine own peril!” Garmr barked, baring a furious toothy grin. All at once, the sprites scattered, hiding themselves behind a spot of rubble. Seemingly satisfied, she returned her attention to Ascilia. “Pray continue. They will not interrupt thee again.”

“Thank you, hm hm. As I was saying…”

As she retold the story of her efforts on the First, Ascilia’s gaze drifted towards the churning black sea above. There was little she needed to share. Her success in halting the Flood of Light, her subsequent reincarnation—in truth little more than a case of body snatching. The life she led as the “new” Minfilia, training alongside a boy named Ran’jit, and her inevitable second death. The resolve she felt to carry forward onto the next vessel, and the guilt burying her own will, leaving each subsequent child to carry that legacy herself. Death, rebirth, and life, again and again, until at last her final successor stood before her...

“... In the end, I gave up any hope of true rebirth to grant a girl named Ryne the power Hydaelyn bequeathed to me. Were it not for Her own guilt for Her part in my sacrifice and suffering…” Taking a deep breath, she lowered her gaze to meet Garmr’s once more, catching sight of her own reflection in the hound’s glowing eyes. “In spite of the natural order, I live again. But ever since the day I came back, my mind began to wander o’er the past, wondering whether the choices I’ve made were the right ones after all.”

From a fair distance behind her, Ascilia heard the Dream Stooges whispering and muttering to themselves. Though their words were unintelligible amidst the din of roaring floodwaters, the feelings behind them were clear to her. Confusion and skepticism gave way to acceptance alongside a bizarre sense of kinship—it seemed their pasts as voidsent resonated with her own fate as the Oracle of Light. Such feelings were a sign of their continued loyalty, if nothing else.

But what truly touched her was the gentle look in Garmr’s eyes as the towering hound laid down beside her, resting her disheveled face against Ascilia’s thighs. “We are the same in some respects. Slaves to Fate, bound inextricably upon Her wheel. Yet though I empathize with thy sorrow, I can only wonder at its depths.”

“And I yours,” Ascilia nodded sagely. Though her Echo could easily lay those depths bare for both of them, it seemed they’d already reached an understanding. “But your understand now why I can’t simply bind your soul into memoria—”

“Thou dost not want to,” Garmr corrected her. “But thou must. If thou dost not—”

“You’ll become a monster again, I know.”

Pausing for a moment, Ascilia did her best to compose herself. There had to be something she could do for this creature. Something to entice her to keep living. Something to justify her continued existence, when her soul longed for oblivion. But only one dismal prospect came to mind.

“If the cause of your insatiable hunger is your existence as a voidsent,” she began, her voice firm, “I believe I have the means to cure it. Here in this dream world, you are lucid. Though many ages have passed since your transformation, you still remember. And therein lies the path to salvation.”

“Do not make promises thou canst not keep,” Garmr grumbled, shifting her weight. “... Go on.”

Reaching down to stroke the hound’s furry ears, Ascilia continued. “Roughly half a year ago, a… friend of mine devised a means to not only rebalance the recipient’s aether, but also purge them of a primal’s influence on their mind and soul.”

“Wait a minute,” Laragorn interjected, fluttering back into her peripheral view. “Does that mean it can detransform us?”

As Garmr bared her teeth at the sudden intrusion, the hair on her back grew visibly tense. “Did I not warn you—”

“Tis alright, Garmr. Be at ease,” Ascilia soothed, breathing a sigh of relief as the hound lowered her head once more. Glancing over to the fiery sprite, she frowned and shook her head. “I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple. The transformation into a voidsent is not only mental and spiritual, but physical as well. But as souls without bodies, that shouldn’t be a problem for the four of you.”

“True enough,” Laragorn nodded. “We’ll have to fix that. Can’t say I’m thrilled with the idea of sharing a body again. No offense.”

“Nor am I,” Garmr grumbled, drawing their attention to her. “But regarding these means you speak of—dost thou have them on hand?”

“I… I don’t,” she answered, her lips curling into a frown. “But I can procure them within a day at most, if you’ll just give me a chance.”

“And thou wouldst attempt to contain my voracity until then? Knowing full well the price of thy failure?” With a shuddering sigh, Garmr pulled away from Ascilia, towering over her as she sat down once more. For a moment her expression was firm. But soon a solemn smile graced her lips, and she continued to speak. “Not since the death of my master have I known such kindness. Yet my stance remains firm. Thou wilt finish what thee started, and seal mine essence in memoria. ‘Tis for the good of all, yourself and mine.”

Ascilia lowered her gaze, her heart sinking deeper and deeper. So dearly did she wish to bear that burden, and not merely for her newfound acquaintance’s sake. In this golden beast she witnessed a reflection of herself. One who had walked a path not dissimilar to her own. To save her soul and grant her life anew was to justify her continued existence in a world that had long left her behind.

And yet, at the same time, she could not help but admire her resolve. That, too, had been the same as her own.

“... I want to live this new life of mine on my own terms,” she declared at last. “I’m sorry, but I can’t—I won’t take your life from you.”

“As stubborn and sentimental as her to boot,” Garmr grumbled, before uttering what Ascilia could only assume was laughter. “Pfah! Have it thy way, child of Hydaelyn. Thou needn’t deliver my memoria unto the sea of souls. Pray, keep it with thee. Mayhap one day thou wilt find a means to awaken me from mine eternal slumber.”

“Hey, that’s a great turnaround!” came the voice of Curlax from behind her. As she turned her head to glance at them, she snickered at the sight. It appeared that, while she had been focusing on the task at hand, they and Moebius had silently been fighting. The latter now held the former firmly in a headlock, much to her bemusement. “And here I thought you’d have to fight the big mutt all on your lonesome!”

“She’d have had our help, knucklehead!” Moebius berated their companion, before catching sight of Ascilia and sheepishly letting go. “Uh-um, I wasn’t… sorry, I mean. We just wanted to get all the… shenanigans… out of our system. Ain’t that right knuck-uh, Curly?”

“What they said!” Curlax squeaked, effortlessly slipping out of the headlock. “We’re just having fun, that’s all!”

“I swear, those two never change,” Laragorn declared, rolling their eyes before slipping their hands behind their head. “Neither do I, really. We sprites try to live every moment in the moment until we’re gone. If it weren’t for the flood—but we’re trying to put the past behind us, right?”

“We’ve all a nasty habit of poorly timed reminiscing, hm hm,” Ascilia chuckled. Turning back towards the towering hound Garmr, she bowed her head and put forth her open palms. “Apologies for the delays. Are you still prepared?”

“Mh,” Garmr grunted. And as Ascilia began the process of drawing her essence apart, her soul slowly fading into an indistinct core of light, she let out a loud yawn. “What a curious sensation. I did not expect to feel the warmth of thy soul… ‘tis slightly skewed towards water, and possessed of a gentle light…”

“So I’ve been told,” replied Ascilia. “How are you feeling…? This isn’t hurting you, is it?”

“Nay. I am… merely… tired…”

As the last of her essence coalesced into the space before Ascilia, she closed her palms around it, forcing it to compress. Smaller and denser the cloud became, until at last it was small enough to fit into the palm of her hand. From there it shifted and hardened, taking the form of a crystal the size of her hand. For just a moment it kept the same hue as Garmr—golden yellow, a sign of immense light-aspected aether. Swiftly, however, that color began to change. At first it merely seemed to refract that selfsame light, taking on the many hues of the aetheric spectrum. Yet soon after a black-violet mist began to course up from somewhere within its depths, growing along the contours of its surface until it completely obscured its depths.

“So that’s a memoria,” Laragorn remarked, eyeing the crystal. “Never had the chance to see one up close. Poor Garmr, though. I guess since she’s lost consciousness, her aether returned to its, er, ‘natural’ state.”

“It should still be possible to purify this crystal,” Ascilia suggested, though in truth she wasn’t entirely certain. “And once I’ve learned how to reverse the process, I should be able to restore her to life. All things considered, this arrangement—”

Just then the ocean above began to glow with the light of approaching stars. They tore through the turbulent waters, converging upon a single point beneath the skyline before flying all across the city. Shockwave after shockwave tore through the earth, shaking the very ground beneath her feet. And as she felt the very fabric of the dreamscape quiver, as if in fear, she knew instinctively whose magicks had called upon this impromptu starshower. It was Lily and Mikoto—them and them alone.

Slipping Garmr’s memoria away for safekeeping, she summoned a sword and shield into her firm grip. “‘Tis best we get moving. Laragorn, will you and your kin scout the skies and guide me to my allies?”

“Right away, boss!” Laragorn chirped, giving her a stiff salute. “Come on Larry, Moe! We’ve gotta fly!”

***

Leaving Ascilia behind, the three departed from the crumbling gates of Radz-at-Han, making their way through the rubble of the city’s streets and alleys. Water bore down upon them from above—first as a trickling rain, then a raging storm—making safe passage difficult. And more than once they’d needed to stop and take shelter from the wreckage of the Garlean naval fleet overhead. With their magicks combined, Lily and Mikoto were able to shelter their party from the worst of it all.

Yet as they stood beneath a dome of stone and ice and shadow, barely holding back the weight of the smoldering wreckage of a garlean warship, Rubedo couldn’t help feeling overshadowed. She’d done everything she could to contribute thus far, expended nigh every trick in her arsenal. But she could do nothing to stem the tide of floodwater pushing back against their approach, nor the falling debris from the decaying ships overhead. And with Mikoto and Lily both focused on their respective magicks, keeping the latter from crushing them to death, there was no one else to stop the former from washing them away.

No one else to rely on but her. Her, and her mediocre conjury.

Bracing herself against the wall of ice beside her, Rubedo shut tight her eyes and began to focus. In a space like this, the mental mindscape of her fellow man, there were no elementals to hear. Yet elementals were the source of conjury—the selfsame power Mikoto was using to shield them with ice. From whence was she drawing this power? And for that matter, was it truly as Ascilia had implied? Was merely believing in herself enough to amplify that might beyond mortal limits?

This seemed to be the case for Mikoto. Perhaps it would also hold true for her. With that in mind, Rubedo opened her eyes and leveled her handgonne, aiming it down the path ahead of them. “I am going to fire a blast of wind and ice aether. It will force the water aside and freeze it, allowing us safe passage to Meghaduta.”

“Are you certain that will work?” asked Mikoto, wincing as the ice dome above them began to crack. Though she quickly mended it, another crack began to form shortly thereafter. “Ah! Please, disregard my earlier skepticism. I believe in you, Rubedo!”

“That might just freeze our legs in place, though,” Lily remarked, before taking a deep breath. In that moment, Rubedo felt a peculiar warmth enter her body, clinging tightly to her as it shut out the cold. “That should suffice. But it’d be best not to dawdle once you’ve cleared the way.”

With an affirming grunt and a nod, Rubedo focused on the path before them. She repeated her own words in her mind again and again, as if trying to convince herself it would truly happen. Then she counted down from three, pulling the trigger as soon as she hit one. In an instant a chaotic ball of aether emerged from the barrel of her handgonne, spasming rhythmically as it tore forward. Chartreuse and teal light sparked from within as it forced aside the oncoming water, revealing the road beneath them as the waters parted and froze.

As the ball of aether continued forward, marking the path for them, Rubedo and her allies charged after it. They had scarcely made it more than a few feet when they heard the sound of Mikoto’s ice dome shattering behind them, followed by the grinding noise of steel on stone as the warship she’d been holding at bay collapsed, no doubt blocking the way back.

Rubedo did not care to look. There was no need to—with the lone exception of Ascilia and the unusual allies she’d made, everything that mattered laid ahead of them. But despite her newfound conviction, something was troubling her. As she’d been chanting to herself, the same sense that allowed her to ‘hear’ the spirits of the land had picked up something unusual. It was the din of a man’s voice. A voice she faintly recognized, though she’d never met the man herself.

It was Ahewann. Deep within herself, she could feel him screaming, his voice reverberating ever so slightly.

“Follow me!” she shouted, bolting ahead of her allies. “I believe I know where Ahewann is being held!”

As she hurried forward, her footsteps clacking and squelching against the muddy brickwork, she made her way upwards and westward. Their target was not the ruins of Meghaduta, she’d realized. It was the airship landing—specifically the Dalriada, which appeared to have been docked there. It was also likely to be guarded by their final enemy, the voidsent called Alastor.

And a copy of her sister, she reminded herself. If it was as capable as the real deal...

When at last they reached Dharma, the district of the city wherein laid the palace Meghaduta, Rubedo looked to the sky. The ocean waters that had barred their path were perilously close, utterly submerging the ruins of the palace grounds beneath an unceasing waterfall. Without hesitation she fired off several more shots, forming a makeshift barrier of ice between themselves and the palace. Yet this would only buy them a scant few seconds at best. It would not be long before the waters overran the barrier, if they didn’t simply crush it into oblivion. And even if she devoted herself wholly to holding off the ensuing waves, they would like as not overwhelm her just as easily.

They needed a permanent solution, and swiftly at that.

“Mikoto, do you have any ideas?” she shouted, hoping to be heard over the roaring waters.

“With a sturdier and taller wall, we may be able to redirect the water’s flow,” Mikoto suggested, eyeing the cracking ice. “But I haven’t much time to gather aether—I may need another source of power for such a feat!”

“On it!” Lily declared. Forcefully pressing a hand to her chest, then slowly pulling it away, she extracted an unsettling mass of roiling red-violet aether from within. As the chaotic energies writhed in her grip, she wiped the sweat from her brow and handed it to Mikoto. “Will this suffice?”

With a gasp, followed by a firm nod, Mikoto gingerly grasped the mass of aether with one hand. Then, with her staff in the other, she floated into the air and began redirecting the torrent’s flow. A stream of water tore out from the waterfall, guided by the Au Ra’s will. Releasing the mass of aether, she forced it into the airborne stream, causing it to swell to a colossal degre. Visibly straining to hold what was now a mighty wave, she redirected it down onto the ice barrier Rubedo had formed, reinforcing it into a towering wall of rapidly cooling crystal.

Then, panting as she released her staff, Mikoto fell towards the ground.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Rubedo rushed to her aid, bracing herself as she caught the Au Ra in her arms. “A-are you alright?!”

“... I… I think so…” she huffed, her face flushed red as she turned her head away. “... The wall… appears… to be holding, at least…”

“That should buy us enough time to free Ahewann,” Lily remarked, though in Rubedo’s eyes it seemed she was almost as winded as Mikoto. “Let Mikoto catch her breath first, then show us where Ahewann is.”

“I’m afraid you won’t be seeing him anytime soon,” came a booming voice from behind them.

Glancing over her shoulder, Rubedo caught sight of the source. Emerging from behind the collapsed rubble of the airship landing’s entrance was a figure akin to the late Varis Galvus. Yet there were three significant differences she noted right off the bat. The first was his armor and arms—a gunshield and greatlance, which seemed hewn from viridescent dragon scales rather than forged from garlean steel. The second was his third eye, which seemed to be inflamed and golden rather than pearlescent white. And the third was that she could make out such details, even from this distance.

Between his rapidly “growing” form and every thundering footfall, it  quickly became clear that he was no man at all, but a veritable giant, at least thirty fulms tall if not bigger. Even Garmr, who had stood as tall as the marids of Thavnair, seemed insignificantly small by comparison.

“Shame Ascilia’s not here,” Lily sighed, drawing her greatsword. “I guess I’ll have to cut him down to size instead.”

With a nod to Mikoto, Rubedo lowered her feet to the ground. Then, after retrieving her handgonne, she quickly readied herself. But as she returned her attention to their approaching foe, she realized something was off. “Hold a moment. Where is… er, the other Lily? Shouldn’t she be with him?”

“The voidsent does not appear to have Ahewann with him,” Mikoto noted, picking up her staff out from the mud. “Perhaps Lily’s doppelganger has absconded with him to a safe location, and our foe wishes to halt our progress. In which case…”

“... Ahewann is on the Dalriada after all,” Rubedo surmised. “He could be anywhere within, and we’ve precious little time remaining...”

“An observant little mouse, aren’t you?” Alastor cackled, slamming the rim of his gunshield into the ground before them. “Go on, strategize to your hearts’ content. But once I’ve devoured Ahewann’s soul, I’ll do the same to you bothersome pests.”

“You have no idea what’s even going on, do you?” Rolling her eyes, Lily took a step forward. “Two pairs of eyes are better than one. Go on ahead, girls—I’ll keep this puffed-up idiot occupied until Ascilia arrives.”

“You have already raided the Dalriada once before,” Mikoto countered, readying her staff. “And you are no doubt as fatigued as I am. Rubedo and I can give you the opening you need, Lily. Once you’ve recovered your strength, your doppelganger should prove no match for you.”

“Do you think you and Rubedo can handle him without me?” asked Lily.

“Bluster aside, it would be unwise to fight a foe such as this without someone to draw their ire,” Rubedo remarked, shaking her head. “And in truth, I fear whomever goes into the Dalriada will have a more difficult fight on their hands.” Pausing for a moment, she considered their remaining options. But there were only two left, and between them the choice was obvious. “... If one of us were to go alone, they wouldn’t necessarily need to win that fight, either. I recommend we send our weakest link.”

At this, Mikoto gave her a concerned look. “Must you sell yourself short? From what I’ve seen, you are a woman of no mean talent.”

“Cutting yourself down like that in a place like this won’t do you any good,” Lily added, her gaze flitting between Rubedo and their titanic foe. “Trust in the skills you’ve learned. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re too weak.”

“Your concern is appreciated, both of you,” Rubedo began, flashing her allies a warm smile. Then craning her neck up to look at the face of their towering adversary, she frowned. There was still one more thing she could do to tip the odds in their favor. “But I have to wonder. Is our foe so certain of his victory that he will simply allow me to pass?”

Planting the tip of his lance into the stone, sending a shockwave through the area, Alastor began to laugh. “Perish the thought! You’re more than welcome to try, if you’re so determined to become a stain on the heel of my boot.”

“If you were so able to squash us, wouldn’t you have done so by now?” she retorted, dismissing his threat with a wave of her hand. “I know my limits well—between Galbana Lily, Ascilia, and Mikoto Jinba, I stand upon the shoulders of giants. There is no shame in acknowledging one’s weakness. Isn’t that right, Alastor?” There was a flash of uncertainty in the voidsent’s eyes, along with clear signs of growing anger. She was on the right track. “Slinking away rather than face the Warrior of Light. Dressing yourself in the skin of being nigh unto a god. Using Ahewann’s own mental defenses to wage war against himself and his saviors. Throwing away the lives of your own allies just to slow us down. You’re as clever as you are an impotent coward. Truly the meekest enemy I’ve ever witnessed.”

The towering Alastor began to seethe, his hands trembling with fury as Lily suddenly burst into laughter. This only exacerbated the voidsent’s anger, his skin turning a sallow yellow as he wrenched his gunshield and lance from the ground. With a mighty exaggerated swing he tried to bring the full weight of the latter down upon their party, only for Mikoto to intercept him with an aetherial barrier surrounding them.

Harmlessly, the attack bounced right off, sending the giant reeling back in disbelief.

Stifling her laughter, Lily motioned towards the airship landing. “Get going, Ruby! Mikoto and I’ve got this.”

With a quiet nod, Rubedo surged forward, dashing past the bewildered Alastor. This earned him a furious roar and a titanic fist slamming down atop him—or it would have, had he not been stopped by yet another barrier. She did not stop to witness his continued tantrum, however, and merely continued running.

Hopefully, she mused, her observations had been right.

***

Watching as her sister disappeared from sight, Lily did her best to restrain her laughter. To see this tinpot tyrant stewing so pithily in his own anger was worth a chuckle. She could hardly blame herself for having a laugh, really. Between this choice of face and his actions today, the voidsent Alastor had swiftly become one of the most contemptible creatures she’d had the displeasure to come across.

But every second she spent reveling in his embarrassment was a second spent not sending him back to the Void. And so rather than continue, she readied her greatsword. A black-violet aura swirled about her as she focused her aether into the palm of her hand.

“Let’s put him out of his misery,” she declared, glancing back towards Mikoto.

“I will follow your lead,” Mikoto affirmed, the wind whipping up about her as she raised her staff.

Concentrating her aura into her blade and palm, Lily let rip an orb of darkness, flinging it towards Alastor’s shin. Then without hesitation she leapt high into the air, twirling at the apex of her jump. It was then that she caught sight of her orb of darkness deflecting harmlessly off his armor, and the sudden grin on his face. As he pulled himself backwards and up onto his feet, he released his gunshield and thrust his greatlance into the air with both hands, attempting to skewer Lily upon its massive tip.

Wordlessly she swore. A highflying stunt like this wasn’t without its risks, and perhaps it was cocky to assume her prone foe was too helpless to defend himself. But with nothing but air surrounding her, her options were limited. And so she withdrew the aether in her sword. Consuming it, she launched her own body further upward, narrowly avoiding the lance as it sliced through the air beneath her.

Gravity kicked in once more, and with a slight jolt Lily landed upon the shaft, then began to slide down towards her smirking foe. As Alastor tilted the lance upward, hastening her fall, she began to channel aether for another attack. But her efforts proved futile—with a powerful flick of his wrist, Alastor battered her with the lance’s shaft, stunning her long enough to snatch her out of the air with his free hand.

“Ghk!” she grunted as his armored fist clenched around her. “Not this gobshite again!”

“That was almost too easy!” Alastor mocked, squeezing her tight. With her torso and hips firmly bound, there was no hope of slipping away from him. “To think such a meager girl once brought me to the brink of death! Ah, but you had an army of fools backing you then, didn’t you?”

“I don’t need an army to send you packing!” she retorted, though in truth she knew this wasn’t looking good.

Her arms were still free, and with her greatsword still wreathed in darkness she was afforded a single clean shot at him. But with her legs dangling uselessly beneath her, it would be hard to launch an attack with any sort of velocity. Even so, he wasn’t about to let her go of his own accord…

Just then, the earth began to shudder and buckle beneath her. As Alastor stumbled and dodged to avoid a series of rising pillars of dirt and stone, dropping his lance in the process, she clung tightly to the hilt of her greatsword, waiting for her opportunity. Once her captor’s retreat slowed, she swung her blade with all the might she could muster, firing her aura as a wave of darkness aimed squarely at his bewildered face.

Much to her chagrin, Alastor merely turned aside, evading the attack without so much as a scratch. With a smug grin he reached up with his free hand and grabbed her greatsword by the blade. The abyssal flame within her roared to action as he tried to pull it away—to no avail. Despite the apparent difference between them, her nigh bottomless aether reserves and willpower proved more than a match for him.

Yanking the greatsword free from Alastor’s hands and slashing deep into his fingers. The smugness in his expression rapidly gave way to agony as his hand retreated, and though her actions earned her body another wracking, the pain she endured paled in comparison to her satisfaction.

“What’s the point of that giant body if a ‘meager girl’ can overpower it?” she laughed, readying yet another wave of darkness.

“Nngh… a fair point,” the voidsent conceded in a worrying tone. “I suppose it’s time I put your strength to its proper use, then.”

“What—”

From Alastor’s hand a dark power coursed through Lily’s whole body, cutting her off. Her skin felt as if it had been lit aflame, her throat and heart and lungs like they were being strangled by barbed vines. All the strength in her arms and legs seemed to waste away, and as she tried to draw upon her own well of aether, to her shock and horror it appeared to have run itself dry. And her greatsword, once light as a feather in her hands, now felt heavy enough to tear her arms apart. Her fingers screamed in agony as she released her grip upon its hilt.

It was then that she caught sight of runes, glowing with the same dark power she wielded, emblazoned upon the bare skin of her arms.

“What have you done to me?!” she cried, her words punctuated by the heavy clatter of her blade hitting the ground.

“This is a curse of the old world,” Alastor answered, pinching her hands between his fingers. “Meant to bind prisoners of war, keeping them docile until our memoriates could make proper servants of them.” Smirking, he dragged her up through the air until she was face to face with his third eye. “Now, whose soul do you believe will taste sweeter, my little morsel? Yours or Ahewann’s?”

Lily grit her teeth as her foe tilted his head back and licked his lips, clearly intent on devouring her. Such an act could only lead to her ejection from this dream. She wholeheartedly hoped this would be the case. And yet a gnawing feeling in her stomach screamed to her that this wouldn’t be the case. As if on instinct she began to swing back and forth, desperately trying to reach the tips of Alastor’s fingers with her legs. If she could just wrap her legs around one, perhaps she could gain the leverage to free her hands.

It wasn’t the greatest plan. Were Alastor not seemingly content to keep toying with her, it would never work. But what choice did she have?

As she reached the highest point of her backswing, fully intent on making her move, she caught sight of a massive fireball hurtling their way. As she swung one last time in the opposite direction, the top of the fireball licked against her back as it rushed past, crashing into Alastor’s face, immolating it and sending him scrambling backwards in panic.

His grip on her fingers disappeared entirely, and after briefly rising into the air, Lily began to plummet.

Reaching deep within herself, Lily tried to muster the strength to slow her descent. The runes on her skin began to writhe in response, rewarding her efforts with another bout of agonizing pain. Were it not for a frigid gust of wind and the formation of an oddly solid cloud beneath her, she would have likely fallen to her death. She breathed a sigh of relief as the cloud hurried her down towards Mikoto, but as it came to a halt and she stepped off beside her friend, another flare up brought Lily to her knees.

“What happened up there?” asked Mikoto, examining the glowing runes. “What sort of magicks are these?”

“He called it a curse of the old world,” Lily gasped, panting as she gripped her arms. “I can’t… my aether, it’s burning me…”

“Your own aether—” Mikoto began, only to cut herself short as Alastor put out the flames engulfing his head. “Oh dear. I’d hoped that would keep him occupied for a while longer. Stay behind me, Lily. I’ll see to our protection until we can remove this malady.”

Her mind still reeling from pain, Lily gave a quiet nod and hurried behind Mikoto. A protective barrier formed around them as Alastor marched his way over, lifting one foot high in the air. With an echoing thud he stomped upon the barrier, forming the smallest hints of a crater around them.

But Mikoto’s barrier held firm, much to Lily’s relief. “Thank you, Mikoto. Sorry for getting us into this mess…”

“You mustn't blame yourself, my friend,” Mikoto replied, glancing back at her with a warm smile. “Instead, I ask that you place your faith in my conjury. Together, we will hold the line… no. We will defeat this enemy, and save Ahewann’s soul.”

Looking up at Mikoto, her smile full of kindhearted confidence, Lily’s heart skipped a beat. She returned that smile in kind, then clasped her hands together and silently began to pray. Even as her runes seared and bit at her flesh, her lungs burned with fire, and her eyes brimmed with tears, she refused to stop. Not until she had offered up every last onze of strength she could.

The air surrounding Mikoto began to scintillate every color under the sun as she hovered off the ground. Her long blonde hair whipped and waved in the wind as she drew upon the very fabric of the dreamscape. The sound of a man’s scream echoed within Lily, followed by a crowd. And in her mind’s eye she saw four and ten glimmering lights. With every passing second, every hammering beat of Alastor’s heel upon their barrier dome, they grew brighter, larger, and closer.

Looking up at the black ocean above, watching as the last bits of Garlean warships crumbled around the city, she caught sight of the source of these lights—wanderers from the sea of stars itself. Meteors. There was no telling how close they were, nor how long their barrier would hold out. But to falter at this crucial moment would invite disaster upon them, and so Lily continued to pray.

Another beat. Lily heard the sound of cracking glass. Another beat. Louder this time. Another. Louder. Another. Louder...

By now the falling stars’ light was great enough to light up the sky. Though their barrier had finally faltered, slowly shattering into aetheric dust before falling upon Mikoto and Lily. But Alastor did not follow up with a final stomp. Instead, he turned his eyes heavensward.

“What in the hells is going on?!” he demanded to know, his voice faltering as he took a step back.

“Stars on high, fall as rain!” Mikoto shouted, directing them towards their foe with her staff. “Pleiades - Twin Meteor!”

A meteor the size of a marid tore through the ocean skyline, smashing through the voidsent’s gigantic form as he were made of paper. With an agonized scream he spun about face, trying in vain to flee. Another meteor sliced its way through him. Then another, and another. Again and again they blasted through his body from every angle possible, cratering the ruined streets and crumbling abodes. Eight, ten, twelve, fourteen... By the time the final meteor had struck, his entire body had burnt away to nothing save for the upper half of his head, and of that only his third eye remained untouched.

With a meaty thud it crashed into the crater before them, caused by the first meteor’s impact. Their foe, Alastor von Muir, was defeated.

“Thank goodness that’s over,” said Mikoto, sighing in clear relief as she landed before Lily. Turning about, she offered her hand. “Pray forgive my earlier failure. No ordinary magicks could have hoped to penetrate his armor. Had I aimed for his head in the first—”

“It’s alright,” Lily assured her, taking her hand. The tears she’d been holding back began rolling down her cheeks. “Thank you for saving me.”

With a soft smile Mikoto guided Lily to her feet, reaching over to wipe her tears away. Cupping them between her hands, she whispered a word of prayer and channeled her aether into them. “Even with exceptional skill in conjury, I fear the curse he laid upon you would be beyond my ability to remove. Were I as well trained in somanoutics, I… but I digress. For now, I only hope this gesture is enough to ease your pain.”

With a pained grin, Lily patted her friend on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t sell yourself short. With your work ethic and talent, you’d make an amazing sage, and partner to boot. Hells, if my heart hadn’t already belonged to Ascilia—”

She cut herself short, lest she make a fool of herself. It was as she said; her heart belonged to Ascilia. There may have been a time when she’d done her best to move on, when the prospect of her beloved’s return had finally been laid to rest. But ushering Ascilia back to life, taking her to Dalmasca, this stint as the sidekick in her adventure, and proposing to her at long last… Not once had she regretted any of it.

Yet seeing the slightest hint of red glow appearing in Mikoto’s cheeks, she couldn’t help but indulge her inner child and tease the poor girl. “Hee hee, and here I thought it was Cid you had a crush on~.”

“My friendship with Cid—! I mean—! I don’t have—!” As her face reddened even further, Mikoto began to pout. “Must you say such things at a time like this? You will break my concentration, and I won’t be able to heal you!”

Giggling through her smirking lips, Lily raised her hands in a placative gesture. “Hm hm, sorry, sorry…”

With a soft sigh, Mikoto finished channeling aether and parted her hands. Droplets of sparkling dew rose up from between them, floating towards Lily. As the dew seeped through her clothing and into her skin, soothing waves of relief spread throughout her entire body, alongside a comforting warmth, as if from a long and breathy kiss.

“Uh, um… thank you, Mikoto,” Lily stammered out, fully aware of the reddening of her own face. “Gods, but that felt wonderful.”

“Full glad am I to hear that,” Mikoto softly beamed. “Now, onto the next matter. Those runes of yours—did they only appear on your arms?”

“Ah, no. They’re all over, really.” Removing her armored gauntlets and cloak, Lily gestured to the scrawls of lettering going up and over her shoulders. “Not just here, either. I can feel them on my legs, my chest, and back too.”

Gingerly Mikoto took Lily’s arm and, starting with her palm, began tracing the runes with her fingers. The soft touch of her hands, coupled with the lingering warmth of her benediction, sent a chill down her spine. What little resistance she felt melted away with every ilm her friend covered. By the time Mikoto had reached the back of her shoulder, she might well have been holding and petting Lily in the palm of her hand.

“I believe I have a diagnosis,” she said at last, releasing Lily’s arm. “These runes are rather similar to leylines in their function. The reservoir of aether within your body—or its flow, rather—has been redirected to feed them. And as you’ve experienced, once the runes are empowered they will inflict pain and fatigue in equal measure upon yourself.” She paused for a moment, appearing to consider something vital, before continuing. “This realm is a product of Ahewann’s dreaming consciousness. Our bodies, in turn, are a projection of our minds and souls. But these binding magicks run far deeper than aught I’ve witnessed tonight. I suspect they will remain even after we awaken.”

Just as Mikoto observed, that had been Lily’s experience. But hearing it aloud made her heart sink nonetheless. “... So unless this curse wears off, I’m less than useless. Guess I won’t be helping Ascilia on her adventure after all.”

“You mustn’t sell yourself short,” Mikoto admonished, tapping her finger on Lily’s chest. “It was your faith that empowered me to such incredible heights as calling down the very stars. I cannot imagine the pain you must have endured to do so—nor would I ever dream of letting this curse keep you from your heart’s desire.”

At this, Lily’s heart skipped a beat once more. Without hesitation he wrapped her arms around Mikoto’s waist and lifted her into a tight hug. “Gods, I don’t deserve a friend as kind and wonderful as you. Thank you so much!”

With a soft gasp, Mikoto pulled herself away from Lily, covering her mouth with her hands as she hovered a full fulm off the ground. At first Lily felt she must’ve upset her, and so she took a few steps back to give her friend some space. But as she tried to apologize, Mikoto swooped in, pushing Lily to lean back as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, brushing Lily’s ears down as she tucked the Viera’s head in beneath her own.

Now utterly bewildered, Lily could only sputter in response. “M-Mikoto…?”

“May I confess something to you?” asked Mikoto.

“... Mh,” Lily nodded, resting her head in the crook of Mikoto’s neck. “Go ahead.”

“When we first met aboard the Prima Vista, I was uncertain whither my assignment would lead me. Adventures and heroism were a mere curiosity, and what days I spent outside my study were oft within the hallowed halls of Noumenon.” Tilting Lily’s head back, Mikoto looked down into her eyes with a bright and warm smile. “Your heroism and candor showed me there could be more to my life than dusty old tomes and faded memories. Our adventure inspired me, drove me to actively pursue my research. I did not belong tucked away behind a desk—I belonged out in the field, with you!”

Wrapping her hands around Mikoto’s waist, Lily returned her smile with one of her own. “I’m happy I could inspire you, but… with me?”

“Quite so,” Mikoto nodded. “The Students of Baldesion and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn have always maintained close ties. I knew in my heart we would meet again—and as fate would have it, we did. The day before the Bozjan Resistance called upon me, I had a vision of our reunion upon the sands of Gangos.” At the mention of this vision, she turned her head aside, her lips curling downwards. “Rare was the day my Echo afforded me a future I wished to look forward to. I worried that, were I to act upon my feelings, our reunion would be soured for it. So I kept my heart to myself, and instead found solace in friendships, both old and new.”

“Misija and Lilja,” Lily noted. “And Cid, too. Was it just me, then, or Cid as well?”

“It was all of you,” Mikoto confessed, stifling a giggle. “Neither race nor gender played a factor. Only… only the promise of collaboration, of kinship, and the excitement of newfound adventure. Perhaps this sounds a touch selfish, but if all four of you had offered to be my assistant, I wouldn’t have picked just one.” Gently pulling away from Lily, Mikoto lowered herself back to the shattered ground, still averting her gaze. “Regrettably, Misija’s actions and the loss of her life laid such dreams to rest. Cid is a man married to his career, and Lilja… I could not ask her to turn away from her future to follow mine. Nor could I do the same to you. And by the time I built up the courage to say any of this, you… you’d devoted yours to someone else.”

Lily set her hand upon Mikoto’s shoulder, drawing her attention back to herself. “That was very brave of you, Mikoto.”

“Did you truly mean what you said?” asked Mikoto, half-smiling with tears in her eyes. “No, I’m certain I know the answer. Let me ask this instead: This adventure of yours, this journey unto the Void… if it’s not too much to ask, might I join you all?”

Leaning down, Lily brushed aside Mikoto’s bangs, then planted a kiss upon her forehead. “Of course you may. You and Y’shtola will have plenty to learn from the expedition. And with Ascilia and I at the vanguard, I promise we won’t have a repeat of Misija.”

“A thousand thank yous,” said Mikoto, blushing profusely. “It’s a shame my conjury is not as potent in reality as it is here. Amidst such spectacular company, I feel I couldn’t hope to pull my own weight. Perhaps I should—”

Beneath their feet, the land began to tremble and crack, cutting Mikoto off. Black and gray smoke began to rise from the rifts formed in the earthquakes’ wake, first as wisps, then as streams. Though they had subdued every threat posed to Ahewann’s soul, it seemed to Lily that they were too late. Her mind raced, wondering if they’d made a mistake in letting Rubedo go on alone. But before she could worry any more, something truly unexpected happened.

The half-obliterated head of Varis Galvus began to fly. A pair of enormous silvery wings had torn themselves free from the socket of his third eye. They were followed soon after by the sallow body of an enormous ahriman, large enough that it seemed almost implausible that it managed to hide within the skull of its own disguise. Smashing its long barbed tail against the ground, it glared at Lily and Mikoto and began to cackle madly.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!! AT LAST, AHEWANN HAS HIT HIS NADIR! HIS BODY AND SOUL ARE MINE, ALL MINE!! ALASTOR VON MUIR IS REBORN!!” As he began to fly closer to them, Alastor licked his teeth and squinted his eye, as if smiling lecherously. “And you are mine as well, Warrior of Light! Oh, but the things I can do to you now that I have a man’s body once more...”

Lily glared at the voidsent in utter disgust. “Hells, do you never shut up? Mikoto, put this royal bastard out of his misery.”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” Mikoto admitted, pushing Lily a step back and standing in front of her, arms outstretched. “That spell of ours was everything I had to offer. Aside from simple tricks, there’s nothing I can do but stand between him and you.”

“Damn it!” Lily spat, her mind racing to come up with another plan. But what could they do, other than commit to their last resort? “Mikoto, we need you to wake yourself up, now! Wake up and make sure Ahewann dies before he can transform!”

“Surely you jest, my little pet!” Alastor jeered, the spokes of his eye glowing and spinning. To Lily’s horror and dismay, her gaze was drawn into them, fixated upon him. As was Mikoto’s. “Good girl. You will remain in my clutches as I make my retreat. And one day, with you at my feet, I shall build a new empire. This world, and all that its light shines upon, will be—”

But before he could finish, Alastor’s vainglorious dreams were cut short by a bolt of gleaming golden light. It tore through his eye, his body glowing white hot until all the striking features of his firm had become  utterly indistinct. Then it shattered, scattering with the wind like a sea of fireflies, blinking out one by one until there were none left.

Landing beside them with the grace of a goddess, Ascilia gave Lily and Mikoto a faint smile. That smile quickly faded, however, as she caught sight of the runes upon Lily’s arms. “The two of you appear to be unharmed, but Lily—”

“We can talk about it later,” Lily declared, cutting her off. “Thank you, my wild rose, but we’ve no time to lose!”

“Lily is right,” Mikoto added, bowing her head in clear shame. “Our best option now is to end Ahewann’s life, before he becomes a blasphemy. If we don’t, he may well devour all of our souls before we return to our bodies.”

“But what of Rubedo?” asked Ascilia. “Has she already returned to the waking world?”

“... I don’t know,” Lily admitted. A gnawing fear began to take root within her. “If she’s still here, then she’ll… I can’t…” Without giving it another thought, she suddenly bolted for the airship landing. “I won’t have my sister’s blood on my hands! We have to find her, now!”