User blog:Carol of the bells/Days of Ruin --- Zen's exile, part 25

Days of Ruin --- Zen's exile, part 25
Wooh~ part 25! Thank you for everyone's support!

Alright, so, I couldn't find the Lucius cutscene....

...but I'm gonna go for it anyway! If I get it wrong, don't stone me, please.



Zen felt a odd form of nostalgia as she remained suspended in the darkness. Only, unlike last time, she didn't feel any power coursing through her.

This time she really did feel dead.

However, she was barely aware of any of this. Apart from a lingering feeling, she had no true memory of who she was. Occasionally, an image of a person would flash through her mind, and she felt as if she should recognize them.

But she didn't.

Suddenly, a regal voice foated through her conciousness. Softly at first, in such a manner that she could not hear the words. Then, they grew louder, ringing clear in her mind.

 Child 

After comprehending that the voice was speaking to her, she tried to reply. She found herself unable to speak, and the voice continued.

'' I am the god of the gate, Lucius. I have come to intervene on your behalf. ''

With only a moments pause, the voice continued.

 '' Fate has not been kind to you, child. Tell me your name.''

Miraculously, the summoner found herself able to speak. "...Zen..."

She thought she heard the voice hum slightly in approval.

''Zen. I am sending you to Grand Gaia, as my envoy. You are to purge the land from the great evil that lies there.''

While the voice was speaking to her, Zen could feel her mind clearing. Memories began returning to her in torrents, ending with her most recent memory, Ko. With more strength, she asked, "Why me?"

 '' You are of great heritage, Zen Samui, but this is not the reason I have chose you. You are also of great character. ''

Zen's eyes widened as her surname was spoken, and the voice continued.

 '' My eye was turned to you when you opened your heart to those beyond the gate. Your friendship with them will serve you well ''

A sudden rush of energy flooded through her as she could feel herself waking up

Now go,  The voice said, beginning to fade,  And vanqiush the evil...

Zen could tell she was awake--she no longer felt numb and incoherent. To her confusion however, her vision was still obscured by darkness.

"Hey, wake up!"

Again, a voice rang in her ears, however this one seemed more lighter, and much more younger. It was female, she could tell.

"I said wake up! Wake up~" It urged.

Zen tried to reply, but her body felt quite exhausted, and she could only twitch.

"Ach, just wake up already!" The girl who was calling her must have flicked her forehead, because she felt a slight, brief pressure there.

The summoner's eyes snapped open, and she gasped, startling the girl who was trying to wake her. As she began to rant about something Zen couldn't understand, she saw that this girl was quite unusual indeed. Her hair was a rainbow collection of pastelle colors, and her garb was quite unusual.

"Hey," The girl pouted, "It's rude to stare, you know?"

Still lying on her back, Zen blinked up at her. "Who...are you?"

The rainbow-et huffed. "Wha--?! Didn't Lord Lucius tell you? I'm a goddess!" She smiled proudly as she introduced herself. "My name is Tilith. I'm your guide!"

"Guide...?" Zen recalled the conversation she had with the mysterious voice, including the task she had been charged with. She also remembered her confrontation with Ko, the confrontation she had lost. This along with many other questions swarming her thoughts, she was overwhelmed into silence.

Tilith poked her cheek. "Hey, Zen, are you alright?" She helped her sit up. "You've gone pale."

She shook her head. "I-I'm fine...." She looked at the goddess. "How do you know my name?"

"Like I said," She smiled brightly, "I'm Lord Lucius' servant! You told him your name, and he told me."

The summoner nodded in awknowledgement, still greatly baffled by this strange turn of events. "I feel so confused..."

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything. So just--" She stoppd ubruptly, looking up suddenly. "Zen, monsters!"

Reacting out of instinct, she leapt up. Sure enough, a cyclops was thundering towards them, weapon raised. Tilith cried out, raising her arms above her head to shield herself. Zen quickly moved to protect her, blocking the heavy mace with crystal. Still finding herself quite stiff, she struggled to shove him back, managing to barely counter as it moved to attack again. It bellowed in pain, vanishing into white light.

"Wow!" the young godess clapped her hands and cheered. "That was amazing! You handled it so quickly!"

But Zen wasn't paying attention to this--her gaze was focused on a small village behind her. Smoke rose from the town, and she could barely make out the remains of a smoldering fire.

"The town--!" Zen quickly rushed to it, Tillith not far behind.



Zen was correct in assuming that they had been attacked because a nearby horde of monsters was raiding the village. She quickly cut down any monsters in her path, shielding any villagers who were running from the beasts.

A cry of pain quickly caugh her attention, and she headed in it's direction, near the center of the village. She was surprised to see a familiar blue haired warrior leaning against a house, clutching his side while holding his weapon out to a large salamander threatening to charge at him.

He struggled to stay upright, battling the poisen that was flowing through his veins from a previous attack a Polvik had inflicted on him. The salamander's tongue flicked in and out past scaly jaws as it peared at him with yellow orbs. Karl was about to make a run for it when a crystal impaled it's head, causing it to topple over stiffly. Without waiting to see who had killed it, Karl fell over in exhaustion, grunting as he hit the ground.

"Karl!" Zen rushed to his side, dropping to her knees when she reached him. His eyes were closed, and he was sweating profusely, but he appeared to be barely concious.

She was about to summon Lancia when another female voice intterupted her, this time a strong, brazen voice. "Hey, you!"

She looked up to see a brunette woman in red armor. She, too, seemed worn from the battle, but her harsh red eyes hid it well. "What are you doing?!" She then saw Karl's condition, she limped towards them.

"It's poisen," Zen said, without bothering to introduce herself, "It's been in his system for a while."

The warrior muttered a silent curse under her breath, and she struggled with something by her side. She finally managed to pull something from a pouch that hung from her belt. "Here," She said, handing her a leafy antidote. "I'd give it to him, but I was hit with a paralysis attack. I'm hardly able to stand as it is..." She looked upset that she was leaving Karl's treatment in the hands of a stranger.

Without further hesitation, Zen located the wound, a gash on his left forearm. She ripped his sleeve and saw that the surrounding skin had turned a shade of purple, and unnaturally dark blood oozed from the wound. She pressed the antidote to the wound, and it began to darken as it rapidly absorbed the poisen.

Though the poisen had indeed spread through quite a bit of his body, Karl was a strong man, and quickly recovered with the antidotes help. He struggled to sit up, with the woman warrior's help.

"You finally snapped out of it," She said, though concern laced her strong tone.

Karl managed a weak chuckle. "That Polevick caugh me by surprise."

The swordswoman turned to Zen, a light scowel on her face. "Thanks for your help, I guess, but you can go ahead and scram now."

For the first time, Karl noticed Zen. His eyes widened with surprise. "Z-Zen?!"

The summoner nodded in affirmation. "Yes. I saw smoke from the distance, and came to see if I could be of assistance. I didn't know that you were here."

"You know this girl?" The woman frowned. "You didn't tell me you made a new friend," She commented bitterly.

"Seria, please," Karl chided, "She did just save my--and maybe our lives."

Seria huffed, but said nothing.

"I am surprised to see you so soon after we just recently met," The summoner mused.

Karl blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Eh?"

His brow furrowed slightly in confusion. "I haven't seen you in two years."

Stunned into silence, Zen could only stare. Only a distant thought in the back of her mind wondered where Tilith had gone off.


 * Three months earlier *
 * Three months earlier *

''There she was again. The white-haired woman who was kneeling before him, blood staining her pale cheeks. He couldn't see her eyes. Why couldn't he see them? Her mouth was moving, and he could tell she was speaking, but he couldn't hear her. He tried moving, but he could only watch. ''

Ko sat up and gasped, shoving the disturbing dream aside. A dull throbbing pain called his attention to his bandaged torso. The attack that Zen had unleashed on him had only grazed his chest, but it seemed to affect his core. Surprisingly dangerous, coming from his sister.

He threw the blanket off of him, getting out of the bed and walking to the washroom. He splashed water on his face, hoping to wash out the memories of his dream. Leaning against the counter, he looked up at the mirror at his reflection. Dull blue eyes stared back at him through the night.

You killed her.

"No," He murmured in response to the thought.

''You killed her. ''

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the counter. "It wasn't me....it was Zen's fault..."

You killed--

He intterupted his thought by smashing his hand into the mirror, shattered glass falling into the sink. He quickly calmed his breathing, returning to his bedroom to remove the glass from his fist.

It wasn't his fault. That's what he believed.



Dun dun DUUNN~

So who is really to blame for the death of Yukino? Zen in denial, or haunted Ko? Tune in next time to find out more in...

DAYS OF RUIN

...

Thanks for reading~