394. Wilde Jagd, 9

(Licht)

I found something far different from what I expected.

A large monster shaped like an entangled forest, covered with flailing brambles not unlike Dragod's, albeit smaller.

Some parts of that scribble of a beast are spreading, others are growing. They have various shapes and colours, some burrowing into the mud, others trying to fight against something within. It's a puzzling show of confusion and violence.

A growing number of brambles that rapidly sprout from this giant mess are attacking it as well, as if it was trying to kill itself?

The demon was being intoxicated I realised, and it was collapsing.

It still had the strength to strike a giant bird away, again. The bird was injured before, and fell wounded to its death away. It was weird.

The beast pulsated its sorrow.

An area of desolation was set.

The smell of demons only focused on killing blindly was spread.

The faint ripples in the environments lead me to understand that Rose was once here, but not alone.

Many things came here to collide. And I'm one of them, albeit possibly the last one to arrive.

The surrounding areas, between ashes and crushed rocks, looks like they already saw some wild fights.

It felt as I approached that many beings-like-her were fighting one another, and devouring one another as time went.

There's only one demon left in the centre of this mess, screaming its agony loudly, or perhaps its victory.

My head hurts.

There is something I can feel, but can't really see nor understand yet.

I'm missing something important, I can tell.

Another thing that I understand is that this demon now comes toward me, fighting these brambles growing out of itself and attacking it. It saw me approaching.

And surely, it felt its urge to kill me.

It's definitely one of the likes of the Priest.

Another childish god on the path of war.

I'm unsheathing my long sword, getting ready to face it.

But still, there is something else to it, I can feel it. It's making me uneasy.

I focus my eyes deeper, my bluish eyes. I see the magic better, and read it as best I can.

I see the wild disease this thing is. And I see beyond it and the monstrous flesh what it really was.

I covered my mouth in sad stupor for a moment.

Sadness follows.

And then, I have to hold my sword more firmly, because it doesn't change what this thing now is.

I will have to fight despite the knowledge that I'm essentially going to kill a copy of me, turned to rot in more ways than one.

I jump on the side as the beast strikes. I escape its assault, turn swiftly while slashing a leg or something that looks like it.

I face the demon like I always do. It begins.

It's sad, but I always knew one day a rose would have to fight another.

~

The demon is shrinking gradually, under my assaults shredding bits of it, and the progressing collapse of its teguments. Larger pieces fall and keep falling out all along the fight.

I blast my light in a flash to surprise it, and then dive my sword into its body, reaching the original seed of that monster, the decayed corpse of Rose.

The demon steps back, and shrinks even more.

It's changing. It's adapting. As they face the obvious doom, either they don't change and die, or suddenly manage to evolve to better face the challenge.

This one chose to change.

So the body operates a rapid metamorphosis in order to better face me.

Out of the decays, what comes out is a figure like mine, albeit darker, and with an odd tentacle sticking out from between her legs like a long and thin tongue, or a forgotten umbilical cord...

That's a terrifying clue as to what might have happened to Rose, but I don't have the time to focus on that.

The demon with human shape now still is a full blown gateway to the otherworldly powers ahead of me. The energy is flowing through her like a rift where reality collapses, while I'm still human.

The longer she is left alive, the worse things will become.

Chaos will continue to grow. Storms will follow. Demons also.

It's basically a living bomb that is growing, as long as it's left alive.

The only ways to disarm that bomb are either to make her evolve drastically, or to destroy it.

Once more, we Lichts are asking for a god to accept to change its existence.

I need my sword for that.

Rose, or this nastily dark rose, jumps at me wrathful. My sword greets her from the flat side, crushing her nose and sending her whole body to the ground.

I didn't slash her from the get go. I want to give the other option a chance.

L - Rose. If you can hear me, I can save you.

- ...

Rose stands up. She's not really Rose, but the closest thing on Earth to what she once was, after me.

I think she saw me. Something did change inside her eyes.

I think she recognised me.

And it made her further mad with anger sadly.

Roaring like a beast, a sword made of brambles appearing in her hand, she attacked me.

Our sword crossed. Mine cut through hers with ease.

But her other fist struck my face harshly. I flew, knocked out.

I stood up rapidly, still dizzy, and we faced each other again.

She couldn't quite hear my voice, but I could somewhat hear hers.

Yells filled with sorrow, strong sorrow.

Sorrow so deep, I could guess what happened.

Bleue must have died.

It was the only thing that could turn Rose in such deep sadness.

I was sorry for her, but unfortunately, it still changed nothing.

Until she would cease emitting this aura of death, I would have to kill her.

~

The fight only grew in intensity. I used the power of Licht. She used all she could find within herself now that the poison had shut some doors behind her back.

Her darkness grew her wings, and clothes of absorbent nature. All forms of energy were eaten, so all lights disappeared and I could only see absolute cold darkness.

I covered myself with burning light that would kill me in a few minutes.

I can't let you live like this Rose, I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

We struck each other with our wills, forcing the energies to collide.

Everything would explode in a few seconds.

We will both die, disintegrated, body and soul.

I'm so sorry Rose.

I can see this intense pain and torment on your twisted face.

Being fought by me, by another you, another rose, must be especially painful for you.

I wish...

It doesn't really matter what I wish...

I wanted to do the right thing.

For everyone. For everything.

For us, and for them.

I wanted to find a solution to the situation that demons like Priest have with the likes of us.

I wish it had not been by killing you...

You of all people.

Rose...

Our fires are growing suicidal, out of control. Our bodies have begun to melt into that intense light making the day outside look like night around us.

You looked at me.

I couldn't hear what you said.

You showed me the middle of your chest.

The place flowers once bloomed.

Your heart.

We're dying, by all means, because of you.

I'll grant you this last wish though.

I forgive you.

May you rest in peace.

My sword slowly ruptures your chest as I impale you.

My skin melts and drips over you like droplets of oil and colours.

As I'm laying you down on the ground, the light around us is slowly making us disappear.

I'm not happy with it, but maybe the best solution I was looking for was for both of us to die.

Old flowers to die.

So that new ones may grow.

The light slowly begins to vanish, without explosion in the end. A fire dies.

Your body disappears into the ground; and so does mine, like ashes.

Goodbye Rose. Goodbye light.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise again.

I hope new flowers will blossom then.

~