Doephluev rushes to the transfer station at the Citadel’s power plant. The three waves from one of Daniel’s ‘God-killers’ washed over the Citadel’s powerful magic barrier, threatening to make it falter even from the extreme range away. She felt the waves of weakness when she was still with Brosjak and Venstennom, though she felt only four of the supposed six that a person could theoretically experience from the two nukes Daniel used so long ago.
Balamae informed her that Daniel just returned to a transfer station, but not the main one at the Fievegal’s immigration station. It’s the same one he arrived at in order to start his secret mission, but Ucahote actively avoided telling her the specific ‘spell-code’ to arrive at that station, even though she was able to catch Daniel’s plan in the act and send Baeka and a few others to protect Daniel.
Damn that dattakorien fool! She had one job!
The archoneldwyn arrives at the power station, and Geirahoel is already screaming, “Mukori!? Mukori, wake up!”
“He’s alive, Geira!” snaps Hekate. “Clear the stupid transfer station so Eri can be brought here next!”
Hekate notices Doephluev jogging in, and the former assassin quickly surveys everyone that is present.
Geirahoel is a panicked mess, somehow not crushing Enya in her grasp, and Reignleif is also visibly distraught, hugging Gyualen and Samael as she watches from just behind the group that the orange dragon simply forced her way into the heart of.
Baeka is alive, and compared to Daniel, she is completely unharmed, while Heralesse seems to have come along with one of her own knights as well. Surprisingly, Paet and Weya aren’t present, and most of the crowd is comprised of golems and a couple of Uhl’tall, Oni, and Chi’rinnis healers attempting to discuss what to do for Daniel, since healing magic won’t work on him with the Fellmother, as Doephluev has decided to refer to her, is lingering over him.
The knight that came with Heralesse makes eye contact with Doephluev, and they stare at each other for only a moment before the knight dips her head respectfully and backs out of the group. She seems rather young, but since Heralesse is also a young woman, it may be an ‘integrity’ thing, since easterners worry about such things. It could be that she’s a reliable companion sharing a history with the young queen.
No matter. How’s…?
Doephluev does her best to press in close to see, and it doesn’t take long for her to find the main issue, given the medics carefully gesturing and discussing among themselves while Hekate tries to calm Geirahoel down.
Daniel’s right cheek is swollen to an such an unbelievable degree, it’s almost difficult to tell that he ever had a right eye. The flesh is very noticeably deadened and scorched, and yellowish fluid is draining and leaving behind an uncomfortable amount of ‘crust’. A few of the golems lay a stretcher down beside Daniel to move him properly, since he’s lying on the floor right now, and the others make room for the mechanical soldiers to shift him onto the stretcher.
From what she’s overhearing, though her mind is admittedly running all over the place at present, they’re worried that replacing his whole eye will be impossible with the means they have.
No! Darling, what happened!? What happened to your eye? Please be alright!
She wants to rush in, but there’s little she can do, and he’s unconscious. She resolves to get the facts from Hekate and Baeka, rather than falling apart like the two dragons, but as she’s waiting for the transfer station to be cleared, a sudden pain comes over her belly.
Doephluev groans, stepping to the side as the tight cramping squeezes on her from the inside. She’s quite far along, though she has no idea how long the archoneldwyn gestation is, since her race shares that with the feldroks; nearly extinct, at least on this continent.
If she got her timing right, the specialized fertility tattoo she applied to herself was active when she finally conceived Daniel’s children, and the specific parameters she gave the runes should have given her triplets in her goal to surpass the dragons in one fell swoop, and to further do so when her second pregnancy also produces triplets.
That said, she doesn’t think they should be far enough along to be applying pressure on her insides, and she catches her breath against one of the structural supports for Daniel’s hastily built power plant. It’s far from a ‘beautiful’ building, but the electrical power coming from the generators further inside has already started seeing use in the homes of the villagers living around the Citadel. His goal is to ensure electricity is available for every citizen of the Fievegal, and even to sell that power to other countries if they desire an alternative to magic power for conveniences, since magic power can be expensive for those who lack it.
“Your Majesty, please let me help you,” offers a soft, feminine, and unfamiliar voice.
Doephluev is in pain, but she does her best not to distract from Daniel, since it feels like little more than cramps, but worse.
It’s the Mornistae knight that came with Heralesse, and she’s gently supporting Doephluev so the archoneldwyn doesn’t fall.
That said, Doephluev studies her even more now that they’re so close. The young woman radiates magical power, but in a subtle way. She’s not noticeably powerful, like Hekate is, and it would be easy for most people to ‘vanish’ if they’re in a room with the feldrok teen from a magic perception perspective.
This magic… It doesn’t feel… right. It’s not strange mana, but it’s… mixed up. It reminds me of…
Doephluev has a momentary flashback to the day she regained consciousness. She doesn’t remember much before her time with Brosjak, and she doesn’t have any repressed memories that slip out in dreams. Her loyalties have always started with herself and surviving, using the skills she developed to live.
She remembers a similar feeling as Brosjak dragged her along, and they escaped from a strange place that she hardly remembers.
But, this same peculiar oddness to the mana that this girl is giving off was lingering all around them. That is a feeling that she had forgotten about, but instantly recognizes now that she’s feeling it again.
Doephluev readies her left hand, taking her weight off of it so she can free it up. She didn’t even consider needing to defend, so she didn’t sneak a firearm onto her person. She’s technically not free from her contract, so she can’t just kill someone… normally.
A powerful enough being willing to accept a little pain can resist magic contracts to a degree, though certain stipulations can sometimes mean instant death before that resistance can manifest into anything.
“Who are you?” asks the archoneldwyn former assassin, wincing as the pain spikes for a moment. She knows it’s not from the young woman, but it’s definitely going to get in the way if she has to try to fight this woman long enough to draw attention.
“What do you mean?” asks the ‘knight’. “I’m…”
“Not a knight of Mornistae,” interrupts the Empress quietly. Daniel is the priority, and sparking a battle will put him in further danger. He is the deadliest assassin the world of Zenkon has ever seen.
But, he absolutely must have the element of surprise and strike first, or he is in severe danger.
Doephluev glances at Daniel and the others, with Geirahoel screaming at the healers for being unable to help him.
You fools… How could you not notice someone like this slipping in? Though, her presence is so faint, I suppose I’m not surprised.
“Answer me honestly, or I will ensure you know a form of torture your mind can’t comprehend.”
“My…” The young woman meets Doephluev’s gaze and flinches lightly. It’s not that she’s terrified, but she sees that Doephluev can’t and won’t be convinced by lies. She has a level of clarity that no disguise can fool, even through the pain.
The ‘innocent’ facade immediately dissolves, and the young woman replies, “We’re not allies to the Ancient One, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Doephluev scoffs. “As if you’d admit it.”
“I wouldn’t speak of it at all,” retorts the humanoid knight. “You saw through my disguise with such ease, but you still think I would acknowledge the existence of the god I am sworn to keep hidden, if that were the case?”
Doephluev thinks. Even with her own deception towards Thymeria, the Uhl’tall priestess was rather steadfast about avoiding talk regarding the Fellmother. There are so many layers of puppeteers pulling the strings on other puppeteers that no one person involved seems to have the big picture.
But, as an apparent fellow outsider looking in, this young woman seems to have a more objective viewpoint of what the eldritch creature’s loyal cabal are doing.
“You’re the one that led the attack on the Citadel…” murmurs Doephluev as she makes that particular connection.
“Did I? I don’t recall doing anything like that,” muses the knight, keeping her body such that it blocks Doephluev’s line of sight on anyone to try to draw attention to them.
She’s not ly-... No… Very well then…
“You incited it, then. Djihnlierr said that someone told her the Citadel would be vulnerable. I wonder if she can corroborate your appearance…”
“You are very clever,” teases the strange ‘knight’. “But, my Father has instructed me to avoid harming any of you since then.”
“‘Instructed’,” mocks the former assassin plenty familiar with word games. For starters, it’s a part of blending into noble society to get close to some targets, and in others, it can be a way to obfuscate one’s involvement in unlawful activities without ‘lying’ to those who can detect lies.
The knight shrugs. “You’re right. Father wouldn’t be able to stop me right now, if I were to suddenly feel threatened. Fortunately, this place is outside of the Citadel’s barrier, so I suppose I could escape rather easily, but… I really am worried for your health.”
Doephluev carefully pushes the woman away, gaining some distance. The cramps are subsiding, finally, so she’ll have to investigate later. “I thank you for your concern, but forgive me for being suspicious of an outsider suddenly approaching me with obvious ulterior motives.”
“All people approaching other people have at least one ulterior motive.” The young woman smirks, continuing, “To look good being the one to greet them and improve one’s own reputation piece by piece, to gauge whether or not they’re receptive to a request, to determine if they’ll be useful in the future, even if they aren’t needed right now.”
“That’s a rather cynical outlook,” replies Doephluev coldly.
This only causes the woman to scoff and giggle. And, in that moment of lowered guard, the archoneldwyn assassin snaps her fingers, discharging the short-range spell she was preparing silently. It’s not very powerful, and it might fail, but she has to try.
To her surprise, it works. While the Mornistae expeditionary uniform is real, the rest of the woman’s appearance slightly different.
For starters, she’s not human. That much is obvious, in spite of her near-human appearance like the gatonines. She has a ‘crown’ of horn-like material that looks more like the crests of the ‘angels’ that Arachne created as a new type of magic summon, and there are three ‘raised points’, center of her forehead and the back left and right of her skull that are similar to natural ‘crenellations’ or ‘tines’ of a royal crown, each with a gentle curve towards the rearward direction for her head. Her eyes have diamond-shaped pupils with vibrant pink irises, and her hair is a very distinct light green color that matches the slender, semi-reptilian tail. Her ears are elongated and shaped more like leaves, the way Doephluev’s or the elves’ ears are, but more slender and elongated.
None of her features are fully residual of any race or species the archoneldwyn assassin knows. The tail is too skinny to be a dragon or kobold, the ears aren’t quite right for an elf, the crown doesn’t resemble any sapient race on the continent, and her skin complexion could pass for the soft silvery-blue tones that separate some Chi’rinnis apart from human tones. Usually, such a distinctly chimeric blend of traits is indicative of a cambion, with a heavily blended bloodline, though it’s rare for such heavily mixed children to thrive due to prejudices, aggression that sometimes manifests, and even health complications.
“Doephluev?” asks Hekate finally, noticing that the normally-clingy archoneldwyn has been lingering away from the group.
She has gotten soft. She has embraced the lifestyle of living like an Empress, even if her ‘promotion’ was pretty much a guilt trip because Daniel is so easy to manipulate.
Doephluev knows it the moment her eyes leave the mysterious intruder, and she quickly whips her head back as fast as she can.
But, it’s too late. As if she never existed, the woman has vanished.
Damn it.
The archoneldwyn immediately turns her attention to joining Hekate as the teleporter circle activates once more. Everyone is paying attention to her, but they don’t seem to have seen the ‘knight’ she was speaking to.
If she can avoid everyone’s attention so skillfully… We need to be extremely cautious when entering the Citadel’s barrier again. I’m certain she’s the one who incited Djihnlierr to attack the Citadel, but now she claims she was instructed to do nothing? What was her purpose here.
“Sorry,” states the assassin as she gets closer. “I had a mild cramp.” She looks at Daniel, who looks especially fragile in his current state, like he could evaporate and never be seen again at any moment.
“He… lost consciousness while protecting Lucy…” murmurs Hekate. Her voice is riddled with guilt, and the former assassin easily notices the protective little pixie trying to hide within the scarf that Daniel is wearing.
“I’m sure there’s a story we’re all interested in,” murmurs Doephluev. “But, why is she here? Did we capture her again?” She looks at Heralesse, and the young Queen remains calm, and, if anything, a little defiant.
“I hope not,” replies Heralesse confidently. “After all. I am the one granting permission for this…”
The teleportation finishes, and a young girl with a knight escort and a familiar and overly-sassy maid arrives; Sir Horaston and Xiannelle escorting their beloved young princess, Erimaya kos Mornistae.
“Hekate! Where is he!? Is he alright!?”
“The Princess?” asks Doephluev with disbelief as the two youngest girls present hug each other briefly.
Horaston briefly drops to a knee, clutching his chest as he catches his breath, and Heralesse replies, “Her Greatness was afraid Daniel would need… the See-arp procedure because his heartbeat is so weak.”
Doephluev knows it is on the list of things Daniel has taught some of the medics and soldiers, but he has told them that it’s not required practice yet because of the risks involved with doing it wrong, and there hasn’t been an abundance of time for him to continue courses. He has said that he would forgive anyone who attempts to save a life, as long as it is clear they acted in good faith, but it’s dangerous to perform any medical procedure improperly.
“We should find Zuzia or Rikuto,” states Doephluev without hesitation. “It’s obvious we don’t have the experience to perform the procedure, or even determine if and when it’s needed.”
Geirahoel snaps, “There isn’t time for that! Look at Mukori!”
Erimaya states confidently and fearlessly, even though she’s surrounded by Empresses and foreign military, “I had Daniel explain it to me at length while he was taking care of me. I haven’t forgotten a single word.” She strides briskly to Daniel, and everyone makes room for her. She explains as she does it, “Cheek to mouth to feel for breath, watch his chest… Ah! And, fingers to neck…” She presses her fingers to the mechanic’s neck as she holds her cheek next to Daniel’s mouth and nose.
“I… I don’t feel his breath. And… I can’t feel his pulse.”
“Are you sure you’re doing it right?” asks Doephluev. The healers, those who have studied anything from the “cheat-sheet” Daniel hastily put together, and a copy of which Floria uses, nod in approval, saying variations of “Her practice matches the ‘aybeesees’,” and “She experienced it first hand and got more direct tutelage…”
The archoneldwyn can feel her hands clenching into fists. She doesn’t know what to do in contrast, since time is of the essence and they can’t just ‘snap their fingers’ and heal Daniel like they could with virtually anyone else. But, her gut is telling her that Erimaya, a twelve or thirteen year old girl, is unlikely to be an expert on something that Daniel explained only because it fit the situation at the time. He didn’t drown, and though he has said it is functional on anyone whose heart has stopped and can –not ‘always will’– save that person’s life, he said there are times it can be the wrong thing to do, such as if the person is only unconscious.
Erimaya leans directly over Daniel’s face, tipping his head back a little and pinching his nose. She starts to lower her own face towards Daniel’s, but a certain fool of the Fievegal refuses to allow it.
Instantly going on guard, Hekate all but literally dives in close, saying, “Ah-ah! Wait! I’ll do it!” She defensively interrupts Erimaya, and she quickly mimics every step the Princess was doing, while the startled young blonde flinches back.
This story originates from Freewebnovel. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Queen Heralesse grumbles while everyone else watches, “Was that really necessary…?”
Hekate pinches Daniel’s nose and lowers her face, getting closer and closer. Doephluev has heard the bare bones overview of ‘CPR’, but only knows that Hekate brings it up in regards to Erimaya because Daniel ‘stole Eri’s first kiss’, which the young Princess is quick to cheerfully confirm as well.
And, that’s exactly where Hekate freezes.
Right before their lips touch, Hekate hesitates, visibly trembling. It takes several seconds, and Doephluev starts to snap, “Hekate…”
However, it’s Reignleif, surprisingly, who suddenly appears drops to Daniel’s side and pushes Hekate back, carefully shoving Gyualen into Erimaya’s arms and Samael into Hekate’s before taking over and instantly pressing her lips to Daniel’s without hesitation. She breathes gently, since she could probably rupture Daniel’s lungs, being the dragon that she is. Once she gives the rescue breaths, the blue dragon says sharply in a tone that is icier than she usually uses against anyone, “You can’t hesitate when his life is on the line. Eri, what’s the next step?” Hekate’s ears flatten in disappointment as she nods, realizing she panicked over something stupid while Daniel is counting on them to keep him alive.
“O-Oh! Right! Um, y-you have to push on his chest hard enough to compress his lungs. S-So… Um…” Erimaya shifts Samael and frees up her right hand, sliding it up the center of Daniel’s chest, following the valley of his sternum to a specific spot. She then says, “Here. P-Place both hands here and use your body weight. Um… Or, at least… hard enough to push, but don’t kill him…”
Reignleif nods, and she positions her hands, following Eri’s tweaking instructions as a few of the healers take notes. Doephluev chews on her finger as she watches, since she doesn’t know what else to do. If Zuzia and Rikuto were in the Citadel, or easily retrievable, she would have gotten them, but there’s no news coming from the mana fire, and they may be needed for any follow-up actions.
A golem does finally appear next to Doephluev, but this one was assigned a specific task by Doephluev after she managed to find one willing to cooperate with her among the ‘quiet’ golems that don’t go out of the way to present themselves to Daniel for various reasons.
A male voice comes out of the servant of the Citadel, and he says softly, “Forgive me, your Grace, but I have a situation to report.”
She knows she should be suspicious outside of the Citadel barrier, given her strange talk with the chimera woman, but her mind is already distracted enough watching Reignleif do what she can to hold back before making her first attempt at chest compressions; something that could snap his spine with her draconic strength. Erimaya starts to offer to do it herself, since she’s lighter, and the trio discusses it quickly and briefly, with Reignleif breathing for Daniel again because of the time.
“Is this about the away team, Cheshyret?” asks the archoneldwyn.
“No. It’s about the ‘Grain Pests’ that we discussed.”
Doephluev nods once. She was fairly certain, but as a golem, he is ‘tied’ to the Citadel directly, meaning the golems can pretty quickly share news with each other before even advanced telepathy can be activated.
“Step over here and explain…” starts Doephluev, but the moment Erimaya jumps her weight downwards onto her hands, everyone’s priorities shift.
***
Daniel finds himself in a strange place. At first, it only feels strange and unexplained how he got where he is. But, his rational mind manages to ‘wake up’ enough to settle it for himself.
He’s standing on the surface of the ocean, which he’s fairly confident about because he can see much further than normal. After all, the ocean matches something he saw only once during one of the rare days he happened to go to one of the exterior points of the aircraft carrier to see the sea.
For as far as the eye can see, dyed beautifully with shades of pink, orange, and purple, the salty water supporting the carrier was as smooth as a pane of glass or even a lacquer coating indistinguishable from but protecting the surface of a beautiful painting.
In reality, there was the wake of the carrier slowly doing the normal routine of five knots to nowhere, since there weren’t flight ops in progress, so the scene would be disrupted behind the ship. But, it also served as a sort of testament to how mind-bogglingly small the largest warship in the world actually is in the grand scheme of things.
The picturesque, glass-like surface of a windless sea hardly responded to one hundred thousand long tons of military steel.
And, right now, there is no carrier. There is only one human standing on the beautiful water, rings forming around his boots as his weight shifts, but vanishing long before the visible horizon miles and miles away.
It’s not the same as the dream he was trapped in with Selena. He’s not sure how, but his gut doesn’t feel the ‘instinctive unease’ he felt that helped him identify the Abyssal Feldrok’s presence. That said, she has confronted him in illusions and mindscapes a few times now, and each was different in one way or another, so he doesn’t lower his guard yet.
‘Where am I?’ are the words that Daniel tries to say, but nothing comes out.
And, no apparent answer comes.
Instead, a scene catches his attention below him, separated from him by the surface of the water. Daniel kneels almost on instinct, lest his legs give out.
Rather than his fantasized versions of his siblings, or the parents that never got to retire, it is his family as he last saw them. His teenage siblings and his parents are below him, waving up at him with gentle smiles. They look truly peaceful, and Daniel’s hands are halted by the surface of the sea, splashing slightly and sending more violent rings outwards, but otherwise stopping him.
“Whatever game this is, let me out of here! This isn’t funny anymore!”
They aren’t drowning, nor are they descending into the fiery depths of hell or the abyss of the deep sea. Their deaths weren’t their faults, and even if Daniel believed in heaven or hell, he would cease to believe in any of it if his family were to be banished to hell for the gentle and kind lives they lived. They weren’t saints by any stretch, but his problem with the concept of an eternity in utopia or unending suffering based on an inconsequential human lifespan is that it’s an amoralistic ‘evil’ because it directly clashes with its own concept. If decent people are banished to an eternity of suffering because they don’t worship God correctly, then God is petty and evil. If a Hail Mary ‘awakening’, ‘born again virtue’, or ‘saw the light’ finding of faith for a sinner who led a lifetime of joyful and unashamed hedonism right up until the last minute on their death bed can get into Heaven, then it is no more ‘moral’ than if there is no chance for redemption.
These things have always stood in the way of Daniel having faith in a higher power. The irony is that he now knows literal higher powers, two specific ones who present themselves such that “everyone else can comprehend their being”, and that it isn’t about being all powerful or all knowing, but instead, pure and simple creation and destruction; the casting of a stone onto a calm water’s surface and letting everything that follows happen as it will.
Daniel is a pebble in a landslide continuously falling into the sea, even if he has, in Zenkon’s case, become somewhat of the face of the landslide because he is the most noticeable pebble.
But, once more, he is being shown his family from Earth for reasons he doesn’t understand, and they aren’t speaking to him.
Seeing him as they are; taken far too early and far too young, slams him in the heart with every emotion he felt when it was still fresh.
More than once, with the combined stress, the sadness, and everything else, he thought about walking off of the fantail of the carrier and letting the ocean embrace him and send him on to catch up to them. He never worked up the courage to do so, and more recently, wouldn’t even think of simply letting himself die without erasing every possible threat he can in the process.
But, now, instead of being the ferryman to carry Daniel forth to rejoin those he lost, it is the gatekeeper denying him.
The mechanic slams his fist against the water, once more gaining a splash that hits his face with the salty spray, but the reflective surface doesn’t yield to him otherwise. “Damn it! Damn you! Why!? Why is this the angle of attack!? They’re gone! I know they’re gone! I know they can’t be saved! So why!? Why show me this!? Why show me them!? Is it to make me suffer!? Huh!? Is this your revenge!? Or, are you ‘God’, trying to taunt me!? This is why! This is why I don’t care!”
Blood drips from Daniel’s chest and hits the water, and the mechanic halts as he watches the scene change.
This time, it’s not something he imagined nor is it something he saw with his own eyes. Regardless, it takes his voice away because it is the most terrible thing he can imagine.
The car ride that ended it all.
Michael and their Father were in the front, talking about Michael’s own car, which was an old sports car that he took excellent care of and wanted to try some of the tuning tricks he had seen on the internet. Their father was highly knowledgeable, though he never messed much with the tuning of any of the vehicles, since his actual job was a supervisor at a logistics center.
There was hardly any snow on the roads.
In the back seats, Selena and their mother were talking about college courses, which Michael took a moment to tease her was a bit premature.
Daniel winces when he hears this, even through the muffling of the impassable surface of the sea separating him from them.
Daniel has no idea when it’s coming, and with how deadly it was, he knows it will be a jump-scare like a cheesy horror movie.
The difference being it was never a movie.
Rather, the scene freezes as the four of them are all smiling, and Daniel’s heart hitches, having braced for the shock as much as he could, and then suddenly shocked that it doesn’t come. He gasps for breath as he realizes he wasn’t breathing, and for some reason, he can taste a faintly smoky sweet taste that is familiar to him, but he can’t place it at the moment. Regardless, his own blood continues to drip into the water around him, staining the surface with a deep red, but not truly shifting the ‘feel’. If anything, the scene is becoming a soft violet color, rather than a sinister red.
Tears fall from Daniel’s eyes, and he asks, “Why? Why show me this? Why any of it? Why did it have to be them?” He presses his forehead to the icy cold water, unable to stop himself from crying.
However, a deep, monstrous growl causes him to open his eyes, and he flinches.
He sees Hekate beneath him now, panting as tears trickle down her face, ragged clothes and a broken wooden buckler as her only possessions. She is skin and bones with ratty fur on her tail and blood trickling from her nose. A towering barbaric ogre is stomping towards her, and it growls eagerly as it raises its club. The scene freezes right as the club is reaching her skull, which never happened.
Next, Ryuogriar, in her humanoid form, carries an egg across a sandy beach, her eyes glazed over with tears flowing down her cheeks. She walks straight into the water, and a towering shadow looms on the horizon, dwarfing anything Daniel has ever seen. It is a titanic monster with eyes that are as big across as a highway tunnel through a mountain, staring down at her. She looks up at the titan with an expression that has lost all hope, and a massive form reaches from the water, casting a dark shadow over her like a localized eclipse. Just as she’s about to be struck, the vision changes to Reignleif, curled in a ball in her dragon form with a tiny, unmoving dragon in front of her in a small bassinet. Visible fog leaves her nostrils in slow increments, and her eyes are noticeably frozen shut by crystals of ice. Each breath seems to lengthen more and more until one last, long, and peaceful exhale leaves her, and she never inhales again.
Geirahoel begs for forgiveness as the other dragons are gathered around her, with a violet dragon that Daniel doesn’t recognize holding a healthy dragon hatchling. The booming voice of Morthybargaron shouts, drowning out the sobbing orange dragon, and his massive red claws grasp her neck, pinning her to the ground as she weeps. A glow builds above her, and the scene switches again, leaving the fate of Daniel’s ‘favorite’ as an implication that doesn’t need exploring further.
Not every story is so tragic, but it’s starting to assemble a picture.
Kera’tai grows old as a renowned warrior, and she retires alone in the mountains, residing in nature. Aoloan becomes a chef in the far east for a time, though she is constantly subjected to suspicion and even accusations simply because she’s a succubus, even after receiving a scar on her face in battle. Vaergraes watches as the growing form of the Devourer swallows the horizon, and the survivors fight over handfuls of leaves or grass and sips of water. Senn uses magic that seems to teleport her, but where she ends up is unknown. Serrentuk’s lifeless body stores Nesparu pel Contarro and a large number of other nobles in Gate, only to run out of magic to flee or fight the Devourer and being consumed. Neith learns of Geirahoel’s fate and flies into a vengeful rage, launching an attack on the surviving dragons and their few hatchlings, slaughtering all but the males who manage to work together and slay the grey dragon, who manages to take Mulmonbargonaed the Red Knight and the Green Sage with him, but leaving Morthybargaron alive with only a few wounds. Erimaya sinks to the bottom of canal of Castle Mornistae, with a knight trapped in his armor. Treia and Gwen go without saying, not surviving the attack on Castle Northwall after Fort Peony burns, and Leiwelles is the only survivor who ends up dying in an unsuccessful suicide attack to try to kill Mulmonbargonaed by herself. Jeavana flies through the skies as far and as high as she can go, having lost weight from refusing to eat and having drunk nothing for a long time until she suddenly loses strength and falls from the sky into the sea.
Wenlianna, for her part, lives a long time, but the Stalvaltan banners fade as she is forced to marry, and she stops working on magic devices, quietly fading away in a corner garden like a forgotten trophy. Veiranoei dies in battle at Northwall, and a blooded and ragged Doephluev in a tattered disguise comes face to face with a dark shadow that causes her to drop her bloodied weapon after killing Brosjak and Venstennom herself, her own strength draining away in instantaneous despair.
Daniel’s heart feels like it’s being crushed by emotions, because whatever thing is doing this to him is intentionally placing him between his old family, who he could join simply by passing beneath the waves, and his new family, whose lives are supposedly better in most or all cases because he is in them.
It’s a selfish thought if it’s coming from his own imagination, because it possesses a certainty that the Devourer would never have been defeated, and even before that, many of them would have lost their lives from events Daniel had a direct hand in curtailing.
No… This… These have to be only possibilities. I’m not some chosen one. I’m just… I was in the right place at the right time. I made lucky choices… Anyone could have taken my place…
No answer comes directly, but when he looks at the people sprawled out in front of him and the fates that may have been, he feels the weight of their lives –and their love– ever more.
Selena, Mike, and their parents are already gone. They were always gone when Daniel refused to step off of the fantail.
And, for a moment, Daniel’s gaze finds himself beneath the water, sinking away from him as the last bubbles leave his mouth. It’s not peace or contentment that he finds in his expression, but continued sadness and pain.
And, that expression lingers long after his heart stops beating.
Daniel clenches his fist as he tries not to accept it.
He chokes out, “I know… okay? I know… I always… knew…” He slams his fist against the impassable water once more, feeling the cold sinking into his bones.
The ocean wouldn’t have taken him to his family. It wouldn’t have carried him up the River Styx, down to hell, or up to Heaven. It would have continued to serve as an insurmountable divide that would never unite him with his family again.
There is no uniting with them again.
But, there is uniting with Hekate and Doephluev. He can see Reignleif, Geirahoel, and Ryuogriar again. Jeavana and Vaergraes will joyfully greet him, regardless of their past. Treia, Gwenesphia, and Veiranoei will make him feel at home in an instant with the slightest smile. Aoloan will make him wonderful food, and Kera’tai will share comforting laughs. Neith and Magnir will hang out with Daniel and talk about any part of the world they feel like talking about. Wenlianna will snuggle against him while they work out designs for the next game-changing design. Shek and Skloe will give Daniel a peaceful home, and Daniel’s sons and daughters will cheer for even a few minutes of his attention, when he wishes he could give them an eternity. Kalegrynten will challenge Daniel to friendly sparring matches, and Yaulwembor will give them both irritable growls and clicks as she wonders why they’re fighting with smiles.
A warmth starts to fill Daniel’s body, starting at his lips, and it reminds him of the first time Geirahoel kissed him without warning, and every single one he has received since then. This time, instead of every moment of his life flashing before his eyes, it is every single kiss, moment of intimacy, and romantic or platonic hug that he has received from everyone.
Fine… I get it now… This… This is the threshold, isn’t it? I’m… dying. Again. But… I’m not dead yet. And… until now… I never really escaped… how I felt. I have taken advantage of all of them and the love they have given me. And, I only made the excuse that I was risking my life for them. I… I know I was, but… It was more for myself.
The warmth starts to grow, and Daniel can taste the smoky-sweet flavor once more. He knows he knows the flavor, and it sends a sort of bubbling tingle through his tongue and into his spine, spreading from there.
I won’t die… Not now. I refuse to die. I… Please, let me wake up. I swear, I will strive harder to become an unkillable protector, rather than simply arrogantly using my life as a one-time-use shield. So… Wake up, Daniel. You god-damned idiot. I have tons of reasons to live, and I’ll be f-...!
CRA-KABOOM!
Light flashes and Daniel is suddenly struck directly in the chest through the water by a bolt of lightning that comes from below the seemingly impermeable barrier of seawater, and in an instant, it feels like his ribs have just exploded. His heart is all but literally roaring like an engine, racing up to redline in a panic. He bolts upright, screaming in absolute, unfathomable pain comparable to what he felt moments after Lucy saved the lives of Daniel and his nearby companions.
Many others scream as well, and Daniel’s sudden movement, ending in him flopping to his side as he clutches his chest where the pain is centered, causes him to land on someone’s lap as he screams in pain. He can hardly make sense of anything, and the sudden pain in his chest is only barely distracting him from the scorching agony in his right eye.
“Daniel!” “Mukori!” “Darling!” scream many voices in a messy ‘unison’ with various hands clasping at him, and Daniel doing his best to gain control of himself, but he can hardly focus with the amount of pain he’s in. He has never had a broken bone, so he’s not sure if anything is broken, but when he clenches his right hand where it is, he inadvertently gets a twitch among a profoundly soft mass of fur, and the hands on top of his shoulder, squeeze only slightly. The lap he’s on appears to be Hekate’s by coincidence, and she calls out over Daniel’s screaming, “I’m here, Daniel! You can’t hurt me! But, what can we do!? Please tell me how to help you!”
The mechanic focuses on her voice, and the one that scolds her, “I told you this was a bad idea! We should have gotten Zuzia to at least ask her!”
“I-... His breathing… I thought…” squeaks another young voice very close to Daniel. Daniel knows it, but doesn’t hear it quite as often. His suspicion is confirmed when Hekate protests, “Hey! Leave Eri alone! She just tried to help! This is my fault!” The feldrok teen instantly squeezes Daniel gently to try to reassure him. “Daniel, it’s my fault! I’m sorry! I thought Seeper would help you!”
Seeper…? Wait, CPR? God damn, this hurts… I can’t believe Eri didn’t complain more…
“I’ll…” croaks out Daniel. Between this bout of screaming, and the apparent minimal amount of time since he initially did, his voice is ragged, but even that one word seems to halt everyone else. They listen intently, as if the fate of the world hangs on his words. No pressure, thinks the mechanic to himself as it takes all of his willpower to catch his breath and speak, rather than scream.
“I think… I’ll live…” replies Daniel. “Pain… Anything… Anything for the pain…”
“What do we have!?” shouts Hekate. “Quickly!”
Hearing this, Doephluev’s mind is racing as well while the healers mention things that are known to help with tiny insect stings, stove burns, and certain stomach or bowel pains. None of them are the local or whole-body dulling of deep pain that Daniel needs.
Wait!
Doephluev was an assassin right up until the man lying on the ground, clinging to Hekate’s lap desperately for anything to give him even momentary relief, let alone comfort, defeated her. He and his friends managed to survive her attack alongside Venstennom, and afterwards, Doephluev woke up a prisoner being given a second chance at life.
But, she has never been ashamed of her past. She just knows there’s a time and place for it, just like the mission with Cheshyret that she still needs to address, and this moment now.
“Laugurs!” blurts out Doephluev. “We need laugurs! And spearmint!”
“What are you talking about!?” snaps Geirahoel. “Now’s not the time for flowers!”
“And, Laugurs are poisonous!” adds Heralesse.
“In large does, yes. But, together with spearmint…”
The ‘right’ dose is a very quiet, peaceful death in one’s sleep. If we get it right in an even smaller amount… At least he should be able to wake up at least…
“You might as well use belladonna!” retorts Baeka, who finally speaks up.
“Nooo. Laugur is a reliable dosage, unlike belladonna, and it’s a peaceful tox-...” Doephluev winces as she says it. True, in all cases, it is the usage of toxins in very specific amounts that determines the difference between poison and medicine, but her own history is obviously not a secret among the two dragons and Hekate.
She looks at the feldrok teen, specifically, who is staring at her intently, but hasn’t responded yet.
“Please trust me, Hekate. I know what I’m doing, and I will protect Darling’s life. If I wished to kill him, doing nothing will serve me just as well if he exhausts his already weak body trying to fight the pain.”
“Hekate, y-your Greatness, I’m serious. Laugur is a severe poison. No one gardens it anywhere in the east because so many people die, and those that don’t are often scarred from the blisters that form.”
“I don’t need a whole flower,” counters Doephluev. “Just a single drop of the oil will do, and I’ll be diluting it.” She rubs her abdomen, saying, “I have no illusions that these children and I will have nowhere and nothing if Daniel is gone. I swear on my life and all of my scrapped together power that I will save him from this pain and protect his life.”
“Do it,” states Hekate.
“Hekate!” shouts Heralesse, who seems to be the only one who knows enough about the laugur. Even Geirahoel, who grows flowers, doesn’t know much about the effects of the toxin, and Baeka only seems to know about belladonna being an option. The dragons, of course, are likely immune to either one’s side effects entirely.
“I agree,” murmurs Reignleif. “But, of course, Ryuo will find out the moment anything adverse happens.”
Doephluev nods, feeling a little relieved. She knows some poisons well enough, and in this case, she is gambling on the few times she dosed it ‘too lightly’, not to mention when she used what she had on her to try to kill a boruan, and they woke up sluggish a few hours later, but well-rested and twice as much the threat because of it.
This will work. She looks at Daniel with one last moment of hesitation, only because she sympathizes with his pain. Don’t worry, Darling. I’ll help you as fast as I can.
***
A/N 1: The “fantail” of a ship, particularly a carrier, is the outer deck at the very back or ‘aft’ end of the vessel that overhangs the water some amount, and is named for its typical ‘fan’ shape, especially on cruise liners.
***
