A parting message

If I, who watched my little sister, who I loved the most in the world, die in front of me...what right can I say I can save people?

When I died, I had a thought in the back of my mind.

'If I can't save her...how can I save anyone?'

...

A gust of wind blew against his face as Amor opened his eyes.

As he did, he was greeted with a wonderful sight.

He took a deep breath. Although the air was fresh and airy, there was barely anything to breathe in.

Then Amor took a look around.

The first thing he saw was a sea of clouds. Unlike the dreary clouds where it constantly nows, and the dark world in the realm of memories, it was completely white.

The warm sun shone from above, and the clouds reflected its sunlight. If it tried to blind him, it was doing its job.

It was just like last time.

He closed his eyes and covered it with his hands.

'Long, pale hands that a human has,' he thought as he looked down on himself. A simple pale white shirt and pants, and he wore sandals.

He kicked them off his feet, and placed his feet onto the warm rocky dirt ground. With the air being thin, and being above a sea of clouds, it was clear that he was on a mountain.

As the sandals flew from his feet, he looked around him once again while the wind breeze blew against his face, gentle and refreshing.

Amor took another deep breath.

Tranquil and serene were the words he could describe.

The clouds, unblemished by the dreary gay world. The warm light from above, gracing them with its gift, making the blue sky joyous and bright.

What was even better was that the stubborn woman wasn't here.

Then Amor rubbed his forehead as his head began to throb painfully.

Damn his curse of thinking.

So he cursed himself, just like he always did. As he did so, the world around him lightened. The pure white clouds reflected more light, blinding his eyes.

'They're here,' Amor thought, covering his eyes and turning his head left.

In the distance, under the sun and the blue sky, something appeared in the distance from afar. Squinting his eyes, he saw it for what it is.

A cloud.

Unlike the other clouds, they were simply unnatural. In one moment, its was only a tiny dot in the sky.

In the next, it was nearly right in front of him.

And it was unimaginably enormous.

Floating above the sea of clouds, this cloud stopped almost above the mountain. Almost above Amor.

Then, there was silence. The cloud levitates, slowly moving up and down. It appeared to be waiting-waiting for something to happen. Amor simply looked at the cloud.

Time passed, and as he watched, the clouds began dispersing, and a pair of large, white feathery wings emerged from the light. They reflected the light from the sun, and they shined brightly, as though exclaiming their holiness.

Then, it flapped, and a large gust of wind blew against Amor's face as he covered his face with his hands.

Between his arms, he saw that the clouds began dispersing, and another pair of wings revealed itself.

The first pair of wings stretched fully outwards, slowly beating its wings up and down.

The second pair, covering the entire body.

Amor looked at the wonder with all his might.

In front of this being, the feeling of being insignificantly small was felt, as well as a sense of nostalgia.

This sight was just as he had remembered. The same mountain, the same fresh air, the same sea of clouds, and this...

Its body camouflaged in the white clouds, its body as tall and large as mountains, and...

A fiery flame that burns within. A flame that no others can replicate nor match, for it is the Lord's fiery love.

Now, Amor simply stood there, waiting.

It was just like the last time he was here.

The being also was still, except for its large wings slowly beating, and its body slowly going up and down.

Then, as slow as a snail, it began to move.

The first thing to move was the pair of wings covering its head. The wings slowly opened, and it revealed its head.

No, not head. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 'heads.'

Heads, just like its wings, were as white as the sea of clouds surrounding the mountain.

Heads that were as enormous as mountains.

From the left, a very large head appeared; an enormous ox head emerged. From the right, another large head appeared; a lion's head emerged. From the back, an eagle's head emerged. And in front of the three heads, a human head emerged.

One body. Two pairs of wings. Four heads, with their eyes all closed, as if to blind themselves from seeing sin.

The second pair of wings slowly flapped in unison along with the first pair.

As the small man below watched, they opened their eyes.

The four pairs of eyes on their heads, followed by an uncountable number of eyes on its wings, all simultaneously opened. As they did, their eyes moved around, slowly shifting, blinking, before looking down on the tiny body of a man.

All of its eyes stared down at him, twitching.

Moving in an inhuman fashion

The man slowly knelt down onto the hard, rocky mountain ground.

Putting both knees onto the floor, he pressed the palms of his hands together. He bowed his head, and prayed for a divine message.

...

The world shook around the witch as stumbled even more than before.

On her hairband, her bonded companion combusted and exuded with even more power, and from its power, she almost stumbled and fell.

After all of that, the witch stood firm, for an enemy descended before her. She kept her eyes on the woman in light. Even now, the woman bathed in light slowly continued to descend onto the ground.

All the witch could think was that the woman was an anomaly.

Not once had this woman moved to strike. She only talked, and talked, and talked, and talked.

Either this woman truly is dedicated, or she is a fool.

A non-laughable fool.

As the world in her eyes shook even more, it all stopped. The blue light behind her dimmed down, and the butterfly's fluttering wings slowed until it stopped.

Through her bond, the witch sent her thoughts to him.

No response was given. However, an unexpected response was given in place of it.

"When you meet with the Lord, the mind receives, but the body is frozen in motion. The receiver's body cannot move nor speak in the outside world," a voice spoke, neither harsh nor gentle.

A voice that was very close to her.

So close, it was unbelievable that the witch did not notice how close it was until now.

The witch looked to the side, and she saw the woman in light right in front of her.

If she had leaned forward just a bit, her nose would touch the other...if the woman had a nose.

In that second, so close up, the woman radiated such light that the witch couldn't identify where her eyes, nose, or mouth were.

The second passed, and a wave of mud appeared from her feet. Towering high over the woman, the mud fell down onto the woman in light. Then, using the mud underneath her, the witch bought herself a distance away.

And the winds howled as it started to whirl around her, becoming louder and louder.

Suddenly, the black mud around the woman slowly began dripping off, and light shone through the openings.

"As I thought, that veil really doesn't fit you well, Anna," the woman said sadly.

"Well, now he's gone and done it. To think he would go so far...what a stubborn man. Well, he can't interfere anymore."

She shook her head.

"None can interfere when being called upon, for it is a sacred rite. Now then..." the woman sighed.

"For all intents and purposes, it really is time for us to talk, Anna. Please, listen to me."

Already, even when the woman was talking, the witch had already begun constructing spells.

The winds howl grew even louder as torrents and streams of mana flooded into her-so much that the mana became visible to the naked eye.

The woman in light didn't seem to care as she continued talking.

"This place, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗹, is such a sacred and fascinating realm. What shouldn't happen in the real world is possible to happen here, in this realm."

She gestured her arms around.

Islands surrounded by fog, trees made up of strange material, the enormous amount of mana in the air...

Compared to the real world, this place was admittedly more fascinating.

"However, this place...it's a false reality. Even during the Age of Magic, such a place was truly abnormal."

"What you see here is not truly reality. It is a hodgepodge of dreams, fragments of memories, all mixed together to make what you see a 'truth.' With your eyes and 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 must've had already seen through the mysteries of this realm a long time ago."

The witch remained silent.

Her silent, nonexistent answer seemed to answer the question, as the woman's light dimmed down just a tad bit.

"The people you've seen here are not truly real. Remnants of a memory, an illusion of the past. They had died a long, long time ago. Even that girl, who lays alone on that bloody hill-"

The witch suddenly pointed her staff at the woman, and a blue spear was constructed in the blink of an eye. In the next second, she sent it towards the woman.

Still, like before, it embedded itself in the barrier of light before shattering.

While it did, the witch twirled around, with her staff outstretched. In a full circle, her staff was swept around, and a blue barrier formed around her.

The barrier brightened for a moment before disappearing into thin air.

The woman watched her, and suddenly the light around her strangely brightened. Her right hand raised upward...and covered her own mouth.

"You really are stubborn, just like him. Of course-"

"Of course, I know," a voice said.

The woman in light stopped.

"Know what? That you're stubborn, or that you know this place is a false reality?" she tilted her head. "If it was the latter, then you also know that what you were doing before serves no real purpose-?"

"Who are you?" the gray-haired veiled witch asked.

The questions 'why do you care for me' and 'why do you care for him' were left unvoiced. These thoughts flooded her brain even as she constructed her next spell.

It is confusing. It is perplexing. It is bewildering.

It is annoying-

"No," a voice entered her ear,

The witch strangely paused, even for a slight moment.

"No," the woman repeated. "We have met before. Just in a different form."

The witch immediately sent another spear.

Landing onto the barrier of light, it barely managed to pierce it before scattering into tiny blue particles.

Unlike last time, it pierced through the barrier a centimeter more.

'Confirmed increase in damage. Assessing and analyzing...'

"That is not what I ask. Who are you?" the witch repeated in a monotonous voice.

'Analyzing 'barrier of light...'

'Error.'

'Calculating possibility of restricting target.'

'...not possible.'

'Calculating possibility of capturing target.'

'...calculation incomplete. Not possible.'

'Calculating possibility of eliminating target.'

'Chances of elimination...processing...'

"You two really are stubborn. Holding on like that, trying to figure out my weakness while I'm talking...you two are so alike, I wonder..." a voice whispered in the witch's left ear.

The witch whirled around and swept her staff. The only thing she felt was the air that part ways.

"Anna, I must know-"

The witch looked back, but the woman in light was gone.

"Why did you kill those children? Why were you about to kill that girl?" a voice whispered into her right ear.

The witch swept her spear around. Once again she caught nothing on her staff but air and a bit of dust.

A long sigh echoed throughout the surroundings. The witch turned her head, and saw the woman in light. She was standing at the top of the hill.

Standing next to a lonely, small body on the hill.

"It's because they hurt this child, didn't they?"

With the wave of the witch's staff, the mud flowed forth from the ground, and it carried her towards the top of the hill.

Raging and destructive, the mud climbed and climbed up the hill. Grass, blood, the forgotten corpses-they all were smashed under the weight of the black mud.

The woman in light shook her head as she slowly knelt down and touched the body's hair. The red bow on the body's hair glistened with crimson blood.

"Even if this place were only remnant memories of a shadow of who they once were, do you think you would've really avenged her if you killed these children? If you put them down like rabid dogs?"

The witch appeared before her and thrusted her spear towards the woman. As she did, the woman simply disappeared

The gray-haired woman didn't begin looking. This time, she spun her staff. Next to the body, and with a sweep of her staff, she whirled around the corpse.

A barrier of blue light just like her own appeared. This time, it didn't disappear, but instead shone brightly.

"...oh Anna. You do care after all."

The woman in light appeared behind her, yards and yards away, on the slope of the hill.

"What gives you the right to give punishment to those children? Even when the fault does lie with the adults, these children are only influenced by them, right? Humans can learn, change. That is how we've come this far."

The witch was quiet as she watched the woman.

'So she was human.'

Even then, the woman in light didn't stop talking.

"What do you think that girl would feel if she sees this-"

"That's enough," the witch said.

"Even now, I can't help but say this over and over again," the woman shook her head. "You really are like him. You truly, really are."

Another howling wind as the torrent of mana surrounded the witch again.

"You're both stubborn in your ways, thinking that you're right, saying you're okay while hiding your pain..." the woman said.

The gray-haired witch felt something boil inside her.

Why won't this woman answer her?

"I'll say this again...who are you?" the witch said.

"...surrounding your heart with a wall of loneliness and coldness, but inside, a kind soul-"

"Who...are...you?" If the witch's voice couldn't be any more emotionless and dead, it was.

"...Anna, don't you understand? You're no witch. You're no monster. You're just a lovely girl-"

A barrage of blue transparent spears flew at her. At the face of all this, the woman began walking forward up the bloodstained hill. Each time a spear was sent forward, it pierced the barrier of light.

Then, just like before, they shattered, only to be replaced by another spear.

Over and over, the spears impacted the barrier. Little by little, cracks begin to form, even as it tries to regenerate.

The woman of light continued to simply walk towards her, her bare feet touching the grass, blood, and dirt.

"Anna, your grandfather always says to move forward...and you should, just not in the way he does it."

More spears rained down, and the witch began constructing another spell.

"I understand Anna. You're in pain."

Another spear rammed into the barrier of love, and the cracks grew larger and larger. Still, the woman in light walked forward, step by step.

"The saddest part of life...is when the person who gave you the happiest of memories simply becomes...just another memory."

One of the spears in the barrage shot forth. This time, it truly pierced through the barrier, and it arrived right at the woman's face.

Alas, she continued walking forward.

"First your grandfather, and now...you. All your experiences are so, so extraordinarily and painstakingly similar, and yet..."

The woman raised both her hands towards the witch, upwards, facing the sky.

"...I know you'll do the right thing. Because I know him, and I know you. You truly are his granddaughter."

Just then, one last spear shot through at the large, healing hole in the barrier of light.

Then, like the switch of the light, the barrier made of love shattered. As the barrier of light shattered, the woman in light backpedaled.

Just then, the ground underneath the woman burst forth, and chains rose. Wrapping around her like a coiling snake, the chains binded the woman.

The woman suddenly began glowing with a light, but the chains then began to radiate an energy. As the chains glowed, the woman's light slowly became more and more faint.

All the mana inside the witch expelled as it flowed into the sky.

The realm around the two darkened. Except for the dim light around the woman, everything was pitch black around her.

...

...

Then, from within the dark world, the bells rang, and a blue light emerged.

…

An aurora appears within the midnight sky. Growing, the aurora spans across the dark sky, and lighting up the once dull realm.

Although it was huge, alas, the aurora was a pebble compared to the ocean of darkness. At least here…it was bright.

Under the blue aurora, the witch summoned forth a throne made of marble, glass, and other whatnot materials from a space unknown.

Sitting down on it, she placed her staff across her thighs. Then words fell from her mouth-an echo that permeated the world around her.

|𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥.|

The winds raged and howled as from the black sky amidst the blue aurora, two enormous ripples appeared in the sky.

From it, two pillars came forth.

The size of skyscrapers, these blue pillars, shaped like a spear, with many strange patterns, grew larger and larger as they slowly emerged from the dark sky.

Then, as if the chains holding them back snapped, they immediately began falling towards the ground at a growing speed.

Just before the two touched the ground, they stopped. Still, the shockwave sent many things flying about. The trees, the corpses, the blood-

All except for a single girl, surrounded by a barrier of blue light, sleeping for eternity.

|𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.|

Another two more ripples were formed, and from it another two large pillars emerged. They also pierced towards the ground yards away from the first pair of pillars.

|𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.|

Then another two descended from the sky, and placed themselves in front of the second pair.

|𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.|

Then another two.

|𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵.|

And another.

|𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸.|

Finally, at last, the two final spears came down from the sky, descending near the previous pair of pillars.

In the span of a few seconds, twelve spears fell from the sky,

Six pairs of spear pillars formed two parallel lines, six pillars on each line. The blue patterned pillars themselves looked to hold the sky, supporting it underneath the blue aurora.

At the center of it all, the woman in light stood. No struggle, no screams. Even when the light around her was dim, she did not look to be in pain.

She only looked at the witch sitting on the throne. The witch grabbed the side of the throne a little more tightly.

There was no tension or silence.

Even as she stared down on her, the witch was still perplexed. She had bound the woman, her barrier of light had died, and she had exceedingly hampered her 'love.'

So why? Why was the woman not struggling? Not begging to be released?

She was still perplexed. Even as a ringing sound emerged in her ears, as well as the headache pulsed inside her head, the witch stared down at her.

"This is my last mercy, granted upon you. Who...are you?"

A second passed. Then another.

And then another.

Yet, no matter how long the witch waited, the woman bound in chains only stood there, facing the witch.

That was what the witch thought.

'So be it.'

She spoke the last two words of judgment.

|𝘛𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘭...𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵.|

And the whole world shook as an enormous blue geyser exploded underneath the woman bathed in light

...

The forest around them blew off into the far distance from the shockwave. Parts of the hill remained, and where a majority of it once was, an enormous crater filled with dust and dirt was evidence.

The blue spears and aurora left long ago, and the dark sky became its usual gray and dull color.

From the dust clouds, a veiled woman emerged from the crater. As she did, the witch stumbled, and her left knee landed on the floor with a 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥.

The blue barrier suddenly appeared around her. Dim unlike its previous bright form, the barrier cracked. Cracks formed here and there, before finally it surrounded the entire barrier.

Then, the sounds of glass shattering echoed as the barrier fell, the particles of blue light floating into the air before vanishing.

The witch gasped for air as she remained kneeling on the ground. After a while of breathing, her right hand grabbed the staff. Steadying it with her left, she lifted herself up with it.

As the witch did, she abruptly pressed her right hand against her forehead. A ringing sound echoed in her head.

The witch nearly keeled over.

Her legs trembling, shaking her head, the witch looked back at the crater.

At the center of the crater, nothing had remained with the exception of dust, dirt, and other remnants of miscellaneous objects like an arm, blood, or a mangled body.

Just then, in a burst of light, arms imbued with light reached out towards her.

The witch whirled around, her dress twirled, her veil moved, and her face turned towards the hands that reached out to her. Mere inches away, the outstretched hands began to turn upwards.

The witch didn't let it happen, with the flick of the wrist, her staff sped towards the woman.

Just as it almost grazed the woman's neck, the world abruptly slowed in the witch's eyes.

Slowed to a snail's crawl, the witch can only watch as the woman's arms slowly reach for her.

Bones cracked as the witch's arms began shaking.

She commanded herself to move. Forced herself to move, even the slightest centimeter.

Like a broken machine, her body just wouldn't move.

In a matter of a second, the witch grappled, struggled, and fought against the mysterious energy stopping her body. Even as the woman touched her face, she still continued to fight it.

Then, the witch…stopped. For the slightest of moments, she stopped struggling as the woman in light didn't attack her.

Instead, she pulled the gray veil away.

A pair of gray eyes and a cold face showed itself as the veil was drawn away. The gray eyes, ever cold and frozen, were slowly opening wider.

"...you have such a beautiful face, Anna. Silly little girl, it's such a shame to hide it underneath a veil..." the woman said, in such a caring and loving tone.

Then, slowly, the woman put her forehead against her forehead.

The witch's shaking intensified.

As she struggled, an unknown force entered her forehead. As she did, the world brightened around her as the mysterious lady began shining like the brightest star.

Brighter and brighter, like a growing star in the night sky, the woman in light began dissipating.

The witch straight away moved the staff, but the woman suddenly exploded. Particles of light danced in the air around her as the woman's voice faded away.

"Even if we'll see each other very soon...but nevertheless, this goes without saying-"

No matter where the witch looked, she couldn't find the woman. While she looked around, a gust of air blew against her cheek, and a whisper floated into her ears.

"Goodbye, my little girl...this is my gift...to you."

The light around her suddenly flooded into her. Just like when the mana around the witch formed a vortex, being absorbed by her, the light was the same.

The witch's body trembled, for a violent faintness had struck her.