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[Rough Draft] Chapter 26: A Betrayal of Tears
The wintery terrain of hardened snow and ice greeted Carina as she slid through the door and entered the cortex of Viktor’s immortal heart. The glittering stars in the sky above somehow washed clean the clamor of politics, treason, and subterfuge that had so indelibly laid claim to her physical form. The Duchess tilted her head towards the glimmering cluster of divine radiance above her and drew in a breath—then stiffened as her gaze snapped back down to the empty white island of frost before her.
At the center of the frozen heart’s expanded domain, Viktor’s bed lay empty. The absence of the colossal dragon sent a physical jolt of pain through Carina’s chest as she took a staggering step forward. Then the Duchess’s limbs unclenched with a strained gasp as she sprinted forward to examine the empty mound of snow.
Only the shallow sloops of cold-packed snow that had built up around the immortal’s bones remained as a testament to his existence. Carina spun at their center, the drums of panic howling against her ears as she called out his name. “Viktor? Viktor, where are you?”
“Did he run away already?”
Carina spun to face the Scarlet Witch, who stood between the pillars of snow. “How—”
“Is there any reason I can’t go anywhere you can go?” Kirsi replied with a slanted, cunning smile. “Though it would appear Viktor sensed my arrival and fled.”
Carina clenched her jaws as the splintered half of her soul paraded through the dunes of sparkling snow.
“So, this is why your control has been improving,” Kirsi commented as she placed her hands against one of the smaller pillars, formed where Viktor’s talons had once stood, and pushed it over effortlessly. “I never thought the god of immortality would stoop to playing favorites,” Kirsi whispered darkly as she wiped the snow from her fingers and brushed past Carina to gaze through the frigid ruins that outline Viktor’s ghost. “It’s my first time seeing this since—” the Scarlet Witch shook her head and then turned to offer the Duchess a candid smile. “You’ve almost reclaimed the entire area. Not bad for a beginner. But you still lack the experience necessary to survive on the outside.”
Carina let out a short breath and refrained from rolling her eyes. ‘Right, well, last I checked, I only have a death total of one while yours is well above fifty.’
“Well, now that I’m finally able to enter this place, we can use it to improve your combat ability,” Kirsi continued as she adjusted the crimson gloves that hugged her slender fingers. “It’s probably best to start with defensive skills so you don’t hurt yourself.”
Carina narrowed her eyes at the Scarlet Witch’s condescending tone, while Kirsi narrowed hers at the simple white gown Carina wore. “To start with, you need better armor. You’re a Duchess, a witch, not a fashion designer. It’s time you dressed like one.”
Carina snorted as she folded her arms. “You’re worried about physical protection in a place like this?” She glanced down at the simple garb and shrugged. “It’s just what I wear when I enter this place.”
“It seems you haven’t been paying attention to Viktor’s lessons,” Kirsi replied with a sardonic shake of her head. “Carina, the objects you manifest inside our cortex of power can be manifested in the real world, when necessary.” The Scarlet Witch extended her hand and summoned a long ice spear in the blink of an eye. “You can adjust, alter, or completely change your preferred weapon at will here.”
Carina watched as the spear shifted into a trident and then shrank into a broad long sword similar to the one Beaumont always carried.
“Having a design prepared and at the ready here will eliminate any waste of valuable time when you need to act outside,” Kirsi continued as she swung the sword with a bored expression before dismissing it with the flick of her wrist. “Body Armor works in much the same way.” She gestured to her scarlet plate armor.
Carina studied the Scarlet Witch’s armor with new interest and noted what appeared to be a sheet of black ice across its crimson surface.
“This armor is enforced with magic to prevent or at least reduce the effect of any direct spells,” Kirsi explained as she tapped the translucent barrier. “However, only use it when you need it. Both your weapon and sword are composed of elemental energy, which means they will constantly drain you of magic to repair themselves and remain active in the physical world.”
Carina tilted her head thoughtfully as she considered the ice darts she had made before. It was true that they dissolved quickly on their own. That was part of what made them the perfect tool for Haemish’s assassination. “Being able to summon both a weapon and body armor at will would be useful,” she mused aloud thoughtfully. “What about enchanted jewelry?”
“You could easily cast temporary enchantments on jewelry, certainly,” Kirsi replied with a snort. “But the longer you wish for that enchantment to last, the more elemental energy it will require. However, I wouldn’t recommend it for battle. Even jewels that can hold a strong enchantment tend to have a one-use limitation when it comes to combat or protection spells.”
‘Still, I’d like to come up with something that could serve as a protection and alert for both Hana and especially Ivy. When Viktor comes back, I’ll have to discuss which enchantments would work best.’
The Scarlet Witch pushed back her braid of white hair with an impatient sigh as she waited for Carina to respond. “Nevermind your pretty trinkets, Carina. A weapon and armor won’t be enough if you run into witch hunters again. I’d be more than happy to deal with them, of course—but you need to be able to survive a surprise attack on your own.”
“I survived well enough last time,” Carina retorted stiffly.
Kirsi arched a single delicate, pale brow. “That was an ambush meant to trap you—not kill you, Carina. You were lucky.”
As much as Carina disliked the haughty tone with which the immortal queen addressed her, she couldn’t deny that Kirsi had a point. “But how could I possibly learn what you have had lifetimes to master?”
Kirsi waved a hand dismissively. “Even I struggled to retain all my memories through each death. Fortunately, there is a method used by pureblood witches to transfer knowledge to their blood descendants. I’ve made use of it more than once to regain my past memories and abilities.”
Carina blinked in surprise. “That—would be helpful. How exactly does it work?”
Kirsi snorted at the hesitancy in Carina’s voice. “Need I remind you that this is our last mortal life. Our continued survival rests on your ability to live long enough to call for my help. So, at least for now, put aside your paranoia and focus on getting stronger.”
Carina sighed and nodded glumly. “You’re right—I’m sorry.”
“Unless, of course, you plan on continuing the bloodline any time soon?” Kirsi added with a bemused smile. “That pureblood Earl certainly seems eager enough to take on the role as your consort.”
The Duchess grimaced and quickly shook her head. “I have no interest in—furthering the line.”
“As expected,” Kirsi replied with a cynical smile. “What a shame. I would have enjoyed crushing his arrogance in bed.”
Carina repressed the urge to gag as she studied the other half of her soul with concern. “Could we—move on to this transference of knowledge you talked about?”
“Now look who’s eager,” Kirsi murmured with a taunting smile. “Observe carefully, Carina. This is something you may need to learn for the future after all.”
Carina frowned and watched as the Scarlet Witch folded both arms in front of her chest, leaving a small space between her hands. Water and wind swirled around the Scarlet Witch’s arms and then circled around her entire body, clearing the frozen glassy surface beneath them as a blinding light flickered awake within the immortal queen’s chest.
“Interesting,” Kirsi licked her lips as she focused her brows and then opened her eyes. “This is the first time I’ve done this inside our cortex. The connection is stronger here. There—that should give you more than enough to work on for the time being.”
The light from Kirsi’s chest gathered slowly between her hands and swirled as it absorbed both elements until it solidified into a small shiny orb. Carina eyed the strange glowing light, mystified but intrigued.
“I transferred the skill of transference as well,” Kirsi commented as she unfolded her arms and held out the orb. “Go on, take it,” she prompted impatiently. “The sooner you master these spells and defensive skills, the better our chances of lasting long enough to figure out a permanent solution to our problem.”
“Permanent solution,” Carina echoed cautiously as she stepped forward to accept the icy orb. “You mean your plans to become a—”
The Duchess flinched as the orb slid into her fingers. Her hand went numb and cold as if it had been plunged into a bucket of freezing ice. The sphere of magic clung to her skin even as it deteriorated. The cold, pale energy coated her hand and fingers like an icy glove before it seeped into her bloodstream and then rushed up her arm to enter her chest.
“Oh, you should probably sit down before it—”
The night sky of stars tipped sideways as the suffocating odor of death, blood, and the odd smell of jasmine pulled Carina away from the icy plane into a dark vortex of smoke and fire. She gasped weakly as her consciousness seemed to flicker in and out, mingling with the memories of a hundred other lives that were not her own.
“Focus on one, Carina.”
Viktor’s reassuring voice pressed through the whirlwind of black smoke and flame. The sky trembled as a deafening roar echoed like the wrath of the gods across the distant horizon where even the stars had abandoned all hope and fled.
Carina flinched and turned away from the burning eyes that gazed at her across the charred and burning city.
‘No, not this one. I should look for something more recent instead. I need to know where Kirsi’s last life ended to know how much she knows about the future. Show me something from the Scarlet Witch’s last life!’
The howling, spinning faces blurred faster until Carina looked at only one among the hundreds of faces that Kirsi had worn. Somehow this face suited the name that Kirsi had taken as her own.
The woman who knelt on the floor was perhaps in her early twenties. The same ice-blue eyes glowed with frosty hostility beneath a delicate cornet that held back the waves of scarlet hair that trembled as she gasped for air.
“So—even you would betray me,” Kirsi seethed as she struggled to remain upright, clinging to a dresser adorned with seashells and rainbow-colored pearls.
Carina’s perspective of the scene shifted as she settled into the immortal queen’s body and gazed back defiantly at the group of witch hunters who surrounded a young man dressed in the majestic robes of the church and a weeping child with turquoise-blue eyes.
The Duchess’s gaze settled on the frightened girl who stood beside the young Pope. Despite her youthful face, short-cropped honey-blonde hair, and strange foreign garments, Carina recognized her instantly. But it was the object that the twelve-year-old girl held in her trembling hands which Kirsi focused her bitter resentment on.
‘A Holy Artifact?’
“You’ve done well, Nesta,” the young Pope Jericho murmured as his grip tightened against his sister’s shoulder. The detached, imperious tone he used grated against Carina and Kirsi’s ears as he looked over the Scarlet Witch with a victorious smirk. “Now, finish her.”
“B-brother,” little Nesta gasped as her large turquoise eyes stared at Kirsi with an expression of shock. “W-what have I—”
Carina flinched as Kirsi attempted to lunge towards them. A strangled cry of pain ripped past the immortal queen’s lips as she crumpled to the floor beneath the witch hunter’s raised spears. The Duchess looked down through the Scarlet Witch’s eyes at the glowing necklace which burned against Kirsi’s skin.
“Krisi!” Nesta fought against her brother’s grip as the scepters glow of divine power flickered and grew dim. “No! Stop! I want to stop!”
“Don’t be a fool, Nesta!” the young man protested angrily. “Why are you hesitating! This is your destiny! You must destroy the Witch of Calamity!”
“Ahahaha!” Kirsi spat out venomously as she lifted her head and chest from the floor. “Is that what you came for, your Eminence? To use the bloodline of Saints to kill me?” The Scarlet Witch’s gaze narrowed in on the trembling, young Pope. “Oh, I get it now—the complexion of your skin, those red tears you shed earlier. You’re not compelling Nesta to do your dirty work out of any divine will. You’ve come for my heart because you believe that it will save your dying, mortal shell.”
“Enough of your lies,” Jericho snarled as he grabbed Nesta’s hands and forced his younger sister to point the holy artifact at Kirsi. “Nesta, finish her off, and we can go home. Griselda and Lilaru are waiting for you. Mother is too. Don’t you want to see them?”
“B-but—” The endless pool of tears that poured down Nesta’s cheek flickered with sparks of gold as the glow of the holy relic reflected against her trembling blue eyes. “Kirsi—isn’t evil, Jericho.”
“She’s a witch, Nesta. No, she is worse than that. She is the corrupted spawn of a witch and immortal who will plunge our world into darkness in her desperate attempt to become a god.”
“She’s not! Kirsi wouldn’t do that! She helps people!”
“Nesta!” Jericho screamed against the shaking girl’s ear. “Do you mean to defy Ramiel’s will?”
Carina watched as Nesta stopped breathing. The conflicted battle of guilt behind her child-like eyes drowned beneath fear and uncertainty as the rumble of thunder echoed beyond the walls and windows around them.
“Enough!” Jericho shook his head and tightened his grip around Neta and the glowing scepter. “If you won’t do it on your own, I’ll help you!”
“You fools,” Kirsi hissed through clenched teeth even as she flinched from the sparks that crackled around the sibling’s joined hands. “Your just as blind as Harmonia. Killing me won’t save either of you.”
The divine glow intensified as Jericho gazed back at the Scarlet Witch with a look of burning contempt before he uttered the words, “Mortem in Deos.” [ᛞᛠᚦ᛫ᛏᛟ᛫ᚦᛖ᛫ᚷᛟᛞᛋ]
Somewhere beneath the pain that slammed against Carina’s mind, she felt Kirsi’s body crash against a wall. The smell of charred hair and flesh was muted by the divine power that filled the room with sparks of electricity and blinding light.
“Stop, Jericho, please! You’re hurting her!”
Nesta’s frantic pleas were drowned out as yet another bolt of lightning ripped through Kirsi, and the wall behind her crumbled beneath its weight.
The Scarlet Witch stared back into Hana’s turquoise-blue eyes with a cold, sardonic smile before her body plunged into the abyss of sharp rocks and crashing waves below. The anger that burned behind the immortal queen’s ice-blue eyes slowly extinguished as familiar dark hands dragged her corpse into the sea.