The Crystal Crumbles

"I was numb to everything; from the sight of my twin being tortured to the vision of being freed by the Arks... And because of my apathetic behavior, the experimenters reduced their torture of me. It was never my choice to be like this. It was my survival instincts."

"It was only when Mother Mav asked me if I wanted more pastries and we couldn't find them in their proper place that I showed emotions for the first time. I was upset because I was hungry. And I cried as Mavislin held me. So this is my life and my memories."

"If the world gives you a second chance, then pray that you will learn from your past mistake and not make the wrong choice of invading others' memories when you can't handle the truth. Fare thee well, Crystal Princess. May you be in heaven half a Chime before the devil knows you're dead."

With that, the Crystal Princess's reign finally ended as she shed a final tear at how useless she was. But, she promised Fabian that she would rise to the ranks and work alongside him... As thanks for saving her from that wretched village. But now, that promise will forever be in a distant realm.

"How could I have been so foolish enough to challenge the Arks... Knowing that all members are as powerful as Fabian? Oh... I only wanted to find my mother again..." thought the Crystal Princess as her body slowly lost color.

"What a regretful scent... I hope she can find happiness wherever she's going..." said Duncan, as he reverted to his standard form and his scythe disappeared.

As the child wanted to leave, he halted to see that the crystal shard Astria used to kill herself hadn't vanished, so he went back to pick it up and passed it to me.

"I figured that it would be useful someway or rather so..." said Duncan, handing me the small piece of white and purple crystal.

"Thanks, I can use Avarice on it and get the Crystal Element. The fight with Astria sounded more intriguing than my fight with the Hound of Madness. I'm impressed that you could pull off so many spells without denting too much of your Elemental Energy supply," I praised, taking the shard.

However, as I wanted to draw out my blade, Vania placed a lock on my sword. Oi! I want to put the shard as part of my new set of Elements... Don't tell me I've got a limit to these things?!

"Notice. You have risen two levels with Duncan's victory in defeating Astria Faust. Now, you do not require your sword to use Avarice. Instead, you may use your hands," instructed Vania as my hand changed from pale to solid black with a purple hue.

Tomoe instantly freaked out, seeing my hand turned into a state, and quickly snatched the shard away from me, thinking that the crystal was cursed. I clicked my tongue, took the thing back, and absorbed the chip into my blackened hand.

"Notice. The Element of Crystal and the skill 'Memoir' have been acquired. The skill is the first stage of learning the Memory Element and can only be used to see into inanimate objects' recent memories."

"It will not be strong enough to see beings' past," instructed Vania as the spell list for the Crystal Element popped into my vision.

Hmm... Even if Vania did say it was only used for inanimate objects, I'm sure that skill would come in handy against someone that uses objects to do his bidding. Speaking of that person, I'd like to know how Mavislin handles him from above us. Vania, you've got any way of knowing?

"Notice. I cannot know Lady Roydon's progress as she ranked above you as your leader and the two Mages have quadrant off their Elemental Energy signatures. However, as long as no pressing alerts are coming from her, it is safe to assume she handles the matter properly."

Ah, what was I thinking? How could I doubt my boss in doing her job? And besides, what can I do to help her if the opponent is stronger than the person several levels higher than me? What was I going to do? Tickle him? Sometimes I question if I was reincarnated with a brain...

"Uhm... It's nearing the time of the meeting. Should we check on the Slayer? I've tried to establish a line with him, but it seems to be blocked," said Duncan.

I was shocked that Bryan was taking so long when our powers were on par with each other. It was a mistake to allow him to fight against the Black Knight all by himself...

Without a moment's thought, I dashed back into the hallway and back to the lairs, desperately hoping that I wouldn't regret my choices, but...