Chapter 85. Feeling it (A)

Later, at a different location inside the memory palace, Everly paused to take a deep breath before knocking on the door in front of her.

"Ghost Knight, it's me," she announced. "I'm coming in." She then opened the door and stepped inside the quarters of her least favorite creation, still maintaining her deep breaths. This was going to be challenging.

"I want to be called Duluhan from now on," replied the massive, armored figure who now stood before her.

Without her soft voice emanating from her helmet, it would have been impossible to know that the nine-foot-tall knight towering above Everly was a woman. She wore platinum-white heavy armor that covered her from head to toe, draped with a white furred mantle over her shoulders. At first glance, she appeared more like a temple warrior or even a paladin, than one of Everly's servants.

"Absolutely not," Everly said immediately. "For one thing, a Dullahan has a missing head. Yours is still on its shoulders."

"Cut mine off," said the Ghost Knight. "I don't need it anymore."

"How are you going to eat without a head, stupid?" Everly asked her.

"Food is a delight reserved for the living," replied the Ghost Knight. "For me, there is only darkness."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, why are you so dramatic?" Everly swore to herself under her breath as she shook her head in irritated dismay. She could already feel her breathing exercise beginning to fail her.

"You're not dead anymore, dummy," she said to the Ghost Knight. "You're completely restored. One hundred percent. I promise, okay?"

The Ghost Knight didn't respond to Everly's assurances. Instead, the armored figure turned to face the fireplace, which was the sole source of light in the darkened room. Then she held her hands behind her back as she peered into the flames, as though she were pondering events too horrible for mere mortal minds to comprehend. Events that would flay the spirit of any poor innocent who accidentally stumbled upon them or drive them into madness at the very least. Such was the perspective of one who has seen the abyss and realized the immensity of oblivion.

"I still want to be called Dullahan," she said stubbornly.

"Yeah, and before that it was Death Knight, and before that it was Phantasma Knight, and before that it was Spectral Knight. Pick a lane, Jane," said Everly.

"You let Grail change his name," the Ghost Knight complained.

"Because he only did it once, dumbass," sighed Everly.

"First, my life was taken from me. Now, my freedom of choice," the Ghost Knight said forlornly. "I shouldn't be surprised. The darkness consumes all."

"Would you please stop being weird," Everly begged of her.

"How should I react instead?" The Ghost Knight wondered. "Perhaps there's a more suitable manner that an innocent soul cruelly snatched away in her prime by the merciless hand of the reaper should behave? I was a sacrifice to the shadows. Forever lost to…the darkness. Unloved and forever scorned by the light of the sun."

"Hey, are you being serious right now?" When the other girl refused to respond, Everly said, "Okay, whatever, have it your way, Ghost Knight."

"Dullahan," the Ghost Knight insisted.

"FINE," Everly said in exasperation. She then pointed to the center of the room and gestured for the armored girl to move there and kneel. Once the Ghost Knight had done so, Everly pulled the helmet off the suit of armor, which revealed the wide-eyed face of a nervous looking person that she greatly resembled, except for the other's girl's corpse pale skin. Then Everly placed a covering over the armor at its neck, sealing it completely. She then did the same for the helmet, before placing a binding enchantment upon it so that it would stay in place when donned or float in the air beside the armor if separated. After they tested it a few times to make sure the spell was working correctly, Everly nodded in satisfaction, pleased by her own handiwork.

"All right, Dullahan," Everly said. "Now you'll at least match the name. But this is the last time, all right? If you try this one more time, I swear I'll peel you out of that tin can and punt you, got it?"

"If such is the will of the darkness, then by it, I swear to abide," said the newly minted Dullahan, pleased by the changes that Everly had wrought in her form.

"Damn skippy," agreed Everly. "Anyway, no more sitting around indulging in your goth phase. You're my new bodyguard, got it? I need to pay a visit to some people who've crossed me and you're going to be the implement of my violent displeasure, 'kay?"

"Cool," said Dullahan, before correcting herself. "That is to say, if the darkness demands that the peril of my wrath must fall upon these fools who dared arouse your ire, then let their suffering begin."

"Oh, hell yeah," said Everly.

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The true headquarters of the eastern temple was located a continent away, in a pristine valley hidden from the eyes of the world in the center of a lush, nameless forest that had been there since time immemorial.

Everly had to admit that this secluded location made for a pretty good hiding spot. If she hadn't already located it by discreetly replacing one of their high-ranking members with one of her creations, it would have taken ages for her to find it.

It hadn't stopped there, either. Her spy had begun clandestinely removing members of the temple's high council so that Everly could replace them with more of her own people. There were only four members that she didn't control. She supposed that today would be a good day to finish off her collection.

"Shall we begin?" asked Dullahan as they stood before the castle gates. "The darkness craves the destruction of these impertinent insects. My hand trembles with excitement at the thought of delivering you their lives."

"Yeah, okay, that'd be good," Everly nodded. "But Dullahan?"

"Yes, my darkness?"

"Could you maybe ease up on the doom and gloom proclamations? I get it, you consider yourself an embodiment of death and destruction, and that's cool, but you're really laying it on a little thick."

The Dullahan paused to consider the words of her mistress. Then she asked, "Are you saying that I'm cringe?"

"No!" Everly said quickly. "Who said that? I didn't say that! I just think…you know, with your look and the atmosphere you already exude, maybe less is more?"

"So, now I talk too much?"

"Dullahan, just listen!" Everly said. "You already have an amazing intimidation factor, okay? The less you speak, the scarier you are. I can get away with the rambling monologs because I'm a wicked sorceress, but you black knight-types work much better as monosyllabic juggernauts, okay?"

"Hmm," said Dullahan thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"Trust me, less is more," Everly assured her. "Save your words for when it'll really screw with someone's mind. You won't believe the results."

"All right," said Dullahan. "Less is more, it is. Thank you, Everly."

"Not a problem," Everly replied, glad that her words had finally reached the other girl.

"Also, I just want to say thanks for including me today," Dullahan continued.

"Huh?" Everly said in surprise.

The imposing knight seemed to struggle to find the words, sheepishly twiddling her fingers as she sought to express herself, before finally saying, "It's just, ever since I got…killed, I feel like I let you down. After what I tried to do to Nev, and how I'm also the only one of us who ever died, and I…was embarrassed, and I felt like you were mad at me over it, and I just…I'm glad you still think I'm useful. Uh, that's all."

"Girl, whaaat?" said the poker-faced Everly. "Dullahan, no, noooo, I'd never hold anything like that against you. You and me, we're fine. I could never stay mad at you. Bad luck is just bad luck," she said, pleased that she'd managed to lie so well without giving a single blink.

Dullahan nodded happily and then gave her a quick, powerful hug, before she could regain her composure. "Great! That's so awesome! Thank you so much!"

"Yep. Yep, it's great," Everly said as she awkwardly patted the massive knight's back. Why do they keep hugging me? she wondered to herself, before saying, "Okay, that's enough with the feely-feels, wouldn't you say? C'mon, stop. Let's go kill some templars!"

"Right, you've got it!" said the enthusiastic Dullahan. "The darkness must be fed!"

"Yeeeah, let's do that," Everly said. "Let's go do that thing."

Then the two of them began striding towards the castle gates.