Fifth Apostle of the Descent

From afar in the almost midnight dark-gray sky, where no moonlight can pierce through its thickness, a black dot appeared.

From just a dot, its size gradually grew larger and larger.

As it grew bigger, so too did the light that shone around it. A dim, almost lifeless orange-yellow light.

It surrounded the dot in a manner that befits it as a shining beacon-a lighthouse amidst a terribly dark storm.

It could be said that it was simply a lone star shining in the night sky,

Amidst the cold night sky, in the howling winds, some could even say that it made its way through its rage just like a ship caught in a storm.

Regardless such an analogy wasn't truly accurate, for unlike a ship it wasn't at the mercy of the ocean's waves and storms.

The winds whistled and howled, its cold, icy breath blowing everywhere it could consume.

Its rage was simply thwarted from one dim orange-glowing black dot.

Then, it arrived over a forest.

A forest drowned in white, cold snow, just like everywhere else.

Now, it was no longer just a dot in the sky from afar.

Now, it was a shining throne.

The patterns adorned on the throne were mysterious, its material polished and dark as onyx. The dead orange-yellow light that emanated from it was dim, suffusing around it, like a very thin fog.

Alas, such a strange, yet unique chair was only surpassed by the one sitting on it.

An orange glow that was dyed with a tinge of faintness glowed from the girl.

Behind her head of long black hair, five yellow-orange shaped diamonds extending in five different directions like a disconnected star.

The girl's sunset-like eyes, imbued with shades of purple, yellow, orange, and a tinge of red fixedly looked forward.

Forward, forward, and forward.

Past the forest's canopy. Past the snow-covered road and more snow that lies everywhere.

Past the shadows that stared back at her.

And her eyes looked at an old house within the forest.

In the darkness, a flame was lit within.

It was warm, pulsing with life.

The flickering flame neither wavered nor swayed, for it only remained still in one spot.

As the onyx throne descended onto the front yard, over the locked gate and onto the flawless snow ground, the door slowly creaked open.

𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘬...

While the door opened, a faint orange light creeped out of the house. Then a cold breeze blew against the ajar door, and it creaked further open, revealing a semi-lit hallway.

𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘬...

After an uncomfortably long creak, the door finally stopped. A silent welcome, for it exudes a simple, warm, silent greeting.

Only the howling cold wind accepted the welcome.

The girl on the throne looked into the hallway.

Many long minutes passed, as she simply remained sitting there…sitting.

Then, suddenly-no.

Not suddenly.

Slowly.

About as slow as a snail, the girl slowly ushered the throne, slowly descending until it was hovering an inch above the ground.

Then, it slowly floated forward until she halted near the wooden porch, a foot where the two stairs lead up to it.

The girl then-somehow even slower than the throne, slowly, yet surely, stood up.

As she stood ramrod straight at her full height of a little over five feet, she somehow bloomed like a peacock, unfurling its beautiful tail feathers as the full length of her dress uncurled.

Covering her body was a black, beautifully patterned dress, which was similar to a hampton maxi slip dress. Patterned with many designs, the dress included slits alongside the sides of the dress, beginning from just below the waistline and her thighs.

When she brought herself up to her full height, she slowly took one step forward.

From the floating throne, her pale feet pressed itself into the snow.

As the strange girl did so, she stumbled.

Although she didn't tip over and fall, her whole body was standing on one trembling leg.

Shaking, the girl remained in the pose, tilting to the left and the right multiple times as her arms waved around her.

In the end, she finally slowly, yet shakily, stood up.

Afterwards, she lifted her other leg.

The girl then took another trembling step forward and nearly fell over.

Very slowly, but also surely, she made her way to the open door. From the snow-covered ground to the two snow-covered stairs, to the almost snow-covered wooden floorboards of the porch.

With every step, her legs trembled.

One careful step after another, the strange girl sometimes very nearly leaned over, sometimes putting her arms forward.

Even then, she took trembling steps towards the door.

…

In a room a bit farther from the house, a blonde girl, a white-haired boy and a little girl looked into a bowl of water.

Rubbing his gloved hands together, he exhaled warm air between them and rubbed it again.

Next to him, the white-haired little girl was wearing her coat, sweatpants, beanie, socks, and gloves from before.

Also she was wrapped in three extra blankets.

After making sure she was fine, Jonah looked back at the reflection of the bowl of water.

Next, he blinked.

Then, he rubbed his eyes.

Afterwards, he shook his head.

Finally, the boy looked back at the bowl.

"Hey...should we help-"

"Absolutely not," the blonde girl said immediately.

Saying that, she proceeded to grip his right shoulder tightly and shake it hard enough for the poor boy's head to fly around like a ragdoll.

"What if she was trying to let down our guard?" Avalow said. "Who knows what kind of person she is!"

"But…" Jonah hesitated. "What if she does need help?"

"Don't trust these people, Jonah," the blonde said seriously. "Especially…especially 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 ones."

As she said that, she pointed at the bowl.

On the reflection of the water bowl, the strange girl tripped. She fell onto her knees on the wooden floorboard, only resulting in her digging her fingernails into the wooden walls.

The white-haired boy looked back at the girl with a clearly exasperated look.

"Even if she looks so young, she's definitely old enough to be your great grandmother," Avalow said as seriously as possible.

"Actually, 'she' might even be a trap!"

Jonah's eyes bugged out and his head turned so quickly the wind snapped.

"No way…"

Those beautiful eyes…how can they possibly be on a boy!?

Heresy!

Blasphemy!

'No,' he suddenly thought. 'She's polluting my thoughts with trash. Damn, I was nearly caught off guard…I can't let her win. Also that was a semi-curse coupon used.'

"I refuse to believe," he murmured. Then, he seriously looked at the blonde girl.

"Dude, she is clearly a girl-"

"Do not be hasty," Avalow said sternly. "Let's…let's think about this first."

The boy looked at the bowl of water once more…then he slowly looked at the blonde girl again.

"...wait a minute, how do you know what a trap is-?"

"I mean just look at her," the blonde girl suddenly said. "She just oozes maliciousness and very bad stuff."

They both looked at the bowl of water once, once again.

The girl was hugging the wall tightly now, shakily moving her bare pale feet every ten or so seconds.

"Um…anyways, wasn't she the one who made you faint when she stared down at you with her eyes?" she suddenly asked.

"But she didn't kill me?" Jonah asked in a manner that is neither a question or a statement.

Avalow gave Jonah a look.

"Come on dude, seriously? Haven't you ever met a really manipulative and bad person in your life?"

The boy's shoulders fell.

The blonde girl smiled-twisted and pained, and patted his shoulder.

"Yeah, I feel the same as well. I'm with you…still, she must have some ulterior motive or something…" Avalow mumbled.

They both looked into the bowl of water…again.

Another minute passed, and the girl hadn't even made it halfway through the hall.

The white-haired boy scratched his head.

"...by the way, what's with this bowl of water?" he asked.

"It's a bowl of water," the blonde girl said, still staring into the bowl of water.

"I mean…it's a bowl…filled with water," the boy slowly said.

"Exactly," she nodded.

"But…" Jonah hesitated. "We can see it as though it's recording it live."

Avalow finally looked at him.

"Recording…it…live…?" she asked.

"...like seeing something somewhere else you can't see with just your eyes in real time."

"Oh, that? It's just magic, that's all."

"..."

"Yep."

"..."

That explains so much.

Jonah truly, truly felt enlightened.

'Another one for the semi-curse jar,' he thought. 'Already filled up…maybe I should raise the maximum capacity…'

"By the way, what about that throne she left outside?" the boy suddenly asked.

"Can we do something about it? You know…too not let her get away or something?"

The blonde girl looked at him once more.

"Dude…Jonah, are you seriously thinking with common sense now?"

"...what do you mean? I'm just proposing what I see so that you guys can think it is a probable solution…"

"Well, it would be fine if it was an artifact, but it's something much, much stronger."

"What do you mean?," Jonah asked.

"It's a relic of power, and those things are always bound to its user; in this case her. We can't even use it, at the very least."

"Oh…wait…" he blinked. "Relic of power? What's that?"

"Just a magical item stronger than an artifact that one can use many times," the blonde girl said offhandedly.

"What's an artifact?"

"A magical item imbued with mana that has many uses and is weaker than a relic."

...what's a magical item?"

"A magical item."

"..."

Another ticket for the semi-curse jar.

Was that five now?

"Look, look! She's going inside the house!" Chaya suddenly said excitedly.

Laying on the floor, with her chin propped up by her arms, she pointed at the bowl of water.

The stranger had just made it past the halfway point.

"...she must be quite confident…entering a magic user's abode...especially hers…" the blonde girl muttered.

Jonah had no idea what the girl was saying again.

…

In the dim living room, with a simple candle lit at the center of the table, a black-haired girl sat by it.

She…simply sat there.

"..."

She just didn't sit there.

The girl kept fidgeting, and her rapidly beating heart, sweating gloved hands that kept clenching and unclenching her clothes betrayed her bearing.

This became so after she felt the mana signature of someone…or something entirely new.

Entirely unique.

So she waited…and waited…and waited…

"..."

'Is this person trying to fake something?' Anna thought.

'Why would she walk so slow?'

It has been a little more than a minute, and by the sound of the footsteps, she could tell that the strange girl hadn't even made it past the halfway point in the hallway.

To do something, or not to do something.

What a perplexing conundrum.

The one saving grace was that since Anna can't even feel the slightest change in the stranger's mana signature, then she could be sure that no magic is being constructed upon her foundation.

In the end, while the girl was slowly approaching her, Anna rehearsed her plan to herself once more.

…

The art of bluffing is a very, very difficult art. Some say it's easier because bluffing is the "more harmless variant" of a lie.

And no, it's not the poker version of bluffing.

Bluffing is neither the standard lie, nor is it weak.

For example, a thief can wear the uniform of an employee working at a warehouse club or superdepartment store, walk in confidently, and no one would notice even during the midnight shift.

In fact, they're more likely to believe that the thief is one of them.

One must keep a confident facade, or either appear serious, relaxed, or calm.

It was a good thing Anna has many experiences with art of facade.

Many, many times she was forced to greet people when friends of her parents and business partners came to talk with them.

Many, many times she wanted to hide in her room forever.

Now once more, she must step out of that room…semi-alone.

She felt something pressing against 'mental space.' It was not unfamiliar anymore, nor was it strange.

Comforting and warm-that was what she felt.

Anna smiled.

Through her bond, she felt her bonded companion was nowhere nearby, and judging by their bond, she felt Amor will be at the very most a few hours until the blue butterfly returns.

Therefore, she cannot take into account the butterfly's return as a variable.

Like all things, plans must be revised and critiqued before it can be as flawless as possible before putting into action.

So she went to ask for some criticism.

…

𝙈𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧...𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩…𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙅𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙖…

"I have a shed nearby where you can be at a safe distance from the enemy, and yet be close enough to come to my aid when I activate the 'signal,'" Anna said to the two.

The blonde girl and the white-haired boy looked at each other.

"I tried getting Chaya to sleep…" the boy said, shaking his head. "She's too excited to go to sleep, rolling around in bed…hey, Avalow, don't you have some magic that can put someone to sleep?

"Hmm…well, I do have a way to put someone to sleep forever…" the blonde girl trailed off, humming.

"...I don't like the way you put it like that," Jonah said seriously.

"But it's true."

The boy just looked at her before looking back at the silent girl..

"...anyways, will this really work?" he asked.

"Do not worry," Anna said. "For when I activate the signal, it should be possible to see through the water bowl-thank you Avalow by the way-"

"No problem."

"-so once the signal activates, then that means there's trouble. By trouble, I mean we start fighting as if our lives are on the line."

Avalow and Jonah nodded, albeit the latter nodded slowly. The latter hesitated, but in the end he opened his mouth.

"If it comes down to it…do we have to...kill...her then?"

The two girls looked at him.

"...didn't you say she was some nonhuman being that would possibly kill us all?" one asked.

The white-haired boy nodded unwillingly.

"...yes..."

"Are you now thinking that she's possibly a person with human morals? Thinking that she's similar to a human, capable of having emotions like empathy?" the other asked.

"..."

One of them shook their heads.

"That train of thought will bring you untold suffering."

Jonah's eyes squinted.

"What do you mean-"

"Wait, what if she wants to hurt Chaya?" a certain blonde girl abruptly asked.

"Alright, let's do this," the boy said.

"...anyways…" a black-haired girl said. "There might be a chance that you're right."

"Huh?"

…

In the end, they continuously kept refining their plan until it became around an hour before midnight.

In the end Jonah and Avalow headed out, heading off to get Chaya and prepare.

In a matter of minutes, the three all went outside towards the shed, while the last girl remained sitting.

As she sat, she slowly touched the black axe-spear-staff next to her feet.

Then abruptly, she grabbed it, lifted it, and placed it sideways on top of the table.

"At least if it's not one of 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, then I guess...it just might be…"

…

Just before the sky was at its darkest, when the clock's hands reached midnight, a girl closed her eyes.

Something wrapped around her, and thus she was pulled underwater.

…

…

…

The ocean's secret song whispers into the ears of those near it.

The sounds of waves crashing onto the invisible large rocks and boulders.

The sound of bubbles slowly bubbling next to one's ears

One girl listened to it all.

The salty, tangy scent of the ocean's waters.

One girl smelled it.

The vastness of its space, the incomparable mysteries that man has never fully explored-

One girl floated within it.

She neither created nor drowned.

She neither sleeps nor wakes up.

The girl simply floated in place.

In the empty ocean, the girl slowly opened her eyes. Far above her was the surface. Rippling with light, several reflections beamed through its veil, shining into the ocean's depths.

She first felt the cool water rippling against her skin.

Just like before.

Then, she raised her 'hand' in front of her and waved. Transparent yet firm-dim yet full of warmth.

No matter how much strength she waved around, her hand moved in a manner befitting of a person in slow motion.

No matter how much force, no matter how much she willed it to be, her hand moved ever so slowly.

Just like before.

Was this the 'ocean' the blue screen told her?

The 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻?

"..."

Nobody answered her. Not the blue screen, not 𝘩𝘦𝘳...

Well in a way, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 did, for 𝘩𝘦𝘳 'memories' told the girl it was.

...it literally just told her this, just now.

How very, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 strangely convenient.

The girl twisted her body and looked below.

However, unlike before, far, far down into the ocean's depths, there wasn't just a void of nothingness.

Below her, there was a gray-white blank slate of a platform. Submerged in the deep ocean surrounded by the reflection of the true ocean, it is the manifestation of the heart, mind, and soul. Upon such a platform, magic can be made, constructed, and realized from the mana from the ocean around it.

It was the foundation.

The girl let herself fall, and so slowly she drifted downwards. The ocean's waters slowly dropped her further and further down its massive vastness.

Then, something pulsed in her head. Then, something ringed in her ears.

The girl never stopped-not until she was many yards above the platform.

Then she looked around.

When one enters the path of mana, they would be pulled into the 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻'𝘀 vast blue waters.

When one is at their calmest, their silence, and at the peak of their enlightenment, or 'meditation,' they may enter the waters of the 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻.

Where its mysteries can wash over them, imbuing them with knowledge, power...and danger.

For if one doesn't take the right preparations, if they are of a weaker race-when they are unprepared, when they take in too much mana…they will-

"..."

Well, the girl understood, in a way, why 𝘴𝘩𝘦 warned her in the days in the 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.

Only the expanse of dark blue water expanded around her.

Now that the girl had the time to look around...it really was just like how she remembered it at the very beginning of the strange phenomenons that were happening around her.

Except the blank slate, the foundation, underneath her.

There was nothing but her, the foundation, and the ocean's waters.

No, there was one more.

The girl looked above.

The water's surface was farther, farther away.

However, above her, there was a stream of very thin blue light.

It looked as though it appeared out of nowhere. Like a moving stream of water the light extended from one end to another; both ends so far, far away.

Compared to the vast sea of nothingness around her, the flat, semi-grayish white plot of land, her 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, stood out, like a small island surrounded by nothing but a large body of…water.

The girl then slowly reached up to the tiny stream.

She asked for a strain, and it pulsed.

From it, a much tinier stream, like a drop of water compared to its entirety, flowed down to the foundation.

To the girl with the 'outstretched hand.'

The girl brought it onto her foundation.

Using it, she began to 'draw.'

With an invisible 'pencil' in her invisible 'hand,' she first drew the dress.

Her 'hand' swayed; with each 'stroke of the pencil' she 'drew' various lines.

Each 'stroke of the pencil,' she 'zoomed in' to be sure the details are close to perfection.

Mistakes that were off were mended from the mana and magic of dreams, for each time she drew, she continuously used her dreams; her memories as the base and reference.

For the dreams were the memories she consolidated.

Each time she wanted to 'draw' the tiniest of details, she ''zooms in,' and she can make out the tiny runes that make up the magic and mana.

Afterwards, she 'drew' the arms, legs, body, and neck; all their lengths and widths.

Then, she 'drew' the hair.

𝘏𝘦𝘳 gray hair.

With each 'stroke', she 'drew' even the smallest; the tiniest of strands.

At last, she 'drew' the veil.

Once it was all done, she breathed 'life' into it.

Like injecting air into a balloon, she poured almost the entirety of the stream of dream mana into it, and magic bloomed.

The 'drawing' inflated, and the figure grew…more.

The dress darkened to black with patterns of royal blue, the skin paled to almost white, the hair gray, the arms and legs lengthened.

She looked upon her work.

From the legs, to the head. From the tips of the fingers, to every strand of hair…

It was the splitting image of a woman.

Then, she used 'points' to indicate where each part should be placed. Just like placing a magical formation, each point must be placed in a precise manner for maximum efficiency.

If the girl placed it incorrectly, she would most likely have a crooked neck, or an arm bent backwards.

And that's not the worst case.

Some of the 'points' were placed onto her shoulders, the top of her head, the tip of her fingers, legs, ankles, chest…

Anna made over an uncountable number of 'points.'

If it mattered to anyone…to her, it felt like customizing a character in one of those games.

In fact, her 'drawing' also felt like that too.

Needlessly complicated, needlessly gives 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 unnecessary headaches, and needlessly needed.

Even now, the pressure had grown to a point in which her head spiked with pain.

But she never stopped.

It must be as flawless as possible.

…

When it was finished, the panging pain drifted away, and so Anna looked upon its visage.

…glorious.

It was time to begin.

With the last of the stream of mana infused with dreams, she took the product and began wrapping herself around it.

The girl felt herself being pulled away, and then she smelled the cold air of her house.

From her body, mana emerged and embraced its entirety.

Like draping a very thick coat over herself, the weight on her shoulders gradually became heavier and heavier.

Each point aligned with each part of her body, merging over her.

The girl felt herself becoming taller.

Becoming stronger.

Becoming something more.

And becoming…becoming-

She looked down on herself.

On her lap, there were two unfamiliar yet familiar gloved hands and a strange black dress with slits outlined with a royal blue.

Each hand was covered in a thin cloth black glove. She raised one until it was nearly in front of her face. Slowly, she twisted it, inspecting every single detail.

She took it off, and she was met with pale hands.

The fingers were longer-at least an inch or so, as well as the nails.

They were foreign hands, and yet…

She clenched and unclenched it, and with each time the fingernails dug into her palm.

And it hurts.

'What was this?'

Such a familiar feeling…

It truly was akin to the days where she dozes off, staring at the dark ceiling listlessly, alone.

She looked around herself.

There was no one nearby.

She looked at her hand once again.

Within her chest, she felt a void. A familiar void that she felt many, many times.

A sense of tiredness.

'So, so very tired-'

She suddenly pinched herself.

No, she can't.

Not yet.

This was too dangerous.

This was a dream.

A dream where she herself is mysterious, having great strength, and most of all…being unknown.

A dream that was the wool in one's eyes, pulled away, for almost no one walks into the unknown without second thoughts or trepidation.

Not even the bravest nor courageous.

The fables of the heroes of old would attest to this, for the books she had read in her childhood all made the heroes this way.

The one who dares walk towards it fearlessly are the most foolish and ignorant.

Those ones would be forced to learn, and after a tragedy they would not make the same mistake.

And such a person who comes to visit this old house is not a fool.

So as she completed the magic, she put the black cloth glove back over her hand and put a veil over her face.

An old, familiar gray-black veil.

The one the girl used to wear.

So, she put it on, and her beating heart slowly died down.

…

No, the veil was worn by the gray-haired woman.

…

…hmm?

Who…used to wear it?

…

"Was it…I?"

…

The gray-haired woman looked up, and she saw a stranger.

A young girl looking to be around thirteen years old hugging against a wall, looking at her with sunset-colored eyes.

Like a statue, the gray-haired woman sat there. Unlike a statue, her veiled face looked at the stranger.

The stranger never looked around the room.

Neither at the black spear-like staff under the table, nor the lit candles, nor the shadows hiding in the corners.

Instead, she looked at the woman before her.

A long gray-haired woman whose face is covered by a dark veil. Only the candle's light lit the bottom half of her veil and neck.

Everything else was casted by shadow.

She simply sat there.

Without further ado, the girl slowly made her way over.

Each step, her pale bare feet pressed against the creaking wooden floorboards, and her legs trembled.

Finally, the stranger stood over the pillow laid out across the veiled woman.

Then, the girl abruptly sat down.

It looked as though the girl tried to sit down as gracefully and majestically as possible, but her legs suddenly gave way.

Her pale face, shadowed by the candle's light, never changed one bit.

The sunset-colored eyes reflected the flickering orange candle light. There was no arrogance, pride, or just about anything.

It was just…she was here to do something.

And only that.

And that was all, for silence engulfed the room.

More much oppressing than the shadows watching them from the corners of the hall, room, and beyond.

As the gray-haired woman silently sat there, the girl suddenly looked up.

"I have heard that a polite human greeting is to say my name first, and then ask you for yours," she said.

Her voice was neither grating or screeching, but neither calm nor tranquil.

Her voice was simply just a voice she used to talk.

But suddenly, her figure changed. The girl seemed to be taller, for she sat with her back even straighter than before.

Behind her head, the five diamond-shaped yellow-orange crystal things, spread like the points of a star, glowed and radiating a dead dim orange glow.

It was quite similar to the candle's glow.

"I am the Fifth Apostle of the Descent, the Eyes of the First. The name given to me is Agash'usha. What is your name?"

Then, the girl named Agash'usha stared at the veil of the woman. She could see nothing, for her sight was blocked by the shadows and the veil.

Her eyes could not see through it, for the veil was impenetrable.

The stranger's eyes grew more lifeless.

Menacingly lifeless.

Then, the gray-haired woman spoke.

"My name...or rather the name given to me…is Islafae."