CHAP.0-9: The last days of the DarknessDays (9)

In the girls' tent, last moment of respite (continued):

"Huh?! But it's nonsense! " cried Aryna, her face turned red.

Cecilia looked at him with a mischievous smile, before stretching delicately.

"Oh come on... you look at him like he's the last man alive on this damn planet. And every time another girl speaks to him, you put your hand on your guard. It's obvious. "

"I... I don't do that! " replied Aryna, embarrassed, her cheeks on fire.

"If you do," Liora breathed in a small voice, with a teasing smile.

"Even I noticed it..." added Maelis in an amused voice, a smile on the corner of his lips.

Then a general burst of laughter resounded in the tent. Even Nesha, yet the most serious, sketched a discreet smile on her lips.

"You're not discreet, captain. "

Aryna let out a muffled moan and hid her face in her hands, overwhelmed by the shame and heat that invaded her cheeks.

Cecilia took the opportunity to slip behind her, tenderly put her arms around her neck and put her head against her shoulder.

"You see... that's why we need these moments. Seeing you act in disadvoid is always fun. We don't know what awaits us tomorrow, maybe we can never laugh together again. So tonight let's enjoy, and share so many memorable memories as long as we're all here," she said in a soft voice.

His words were followed by a silence full of meaning. Each one looked down, touched. The reality of the upcoming battle slowly infiltrated between the bursts of laughter.

But they didn't let her break them.

Aryna looked up, her gaze shining with a soft, fragile, but sincere light.

"So... let's stay awake a little longer. Let's talk about everything and nothing. As long as we are together," she said calmly.

A lantern in the center projected a warm light. The shadows danced gently on the canvas walls.

Cecilia straightened up and sat down in a suit, her blond hair falling freely on her shoulders. She contemplated the lantern in a warm way.

His voice became soft, and his eyes shone with emotions:

"By the way, girls... before leaving, I made a promise to my parents. I swore to them that I would come back and this mission would be the last. "

The others stared at her, surprised. Cecilia rarely talked about her family.

She was silent for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"My father always told me that I would eventually die from playing the signet rings. That it was not a world for a woman. But today, I'm here. I survived and managed to prove him wrong. I even realized my dream. "

She pumped her chest slightly with pride.

"I am part of the order of exterminators. One of the powerful elite orders. Not a banal provincial battalion, eh eh..."

His gaze rose, and looked at everyone warmly.

"Tonight, I want us to make a promise, all five. Between sisters of arms and hearts. That we do everything to survive. And that at the end of this war, we will meet again"

She held out her hand to the center.

"Promise me... that when all this is over, we'll meet again. And that we will go drink, laugh and roof all the shops of the capital. Promised?" She said in a soft voice with a radiant smile.

One by one, the smiles reappeared. The hands tensed, one after the other, touching Cecilia's.

"I Promise. "

"I Promise. "

"I Promise. "

Aryna was the last, she observed them, moved, and held out hers in turn.

"I Promise. So let's have a nice evening, girls. "

They all looked at each other, united by a sincere and warm smile, there were no more signet rings. Only five young women bound by a friendship stronger than steel.

Cecilia smiled and breathed a little of her magic into the lantern. Green glows escaped, like fireflies. They swirled in the air, illuminating the faces bathed in tenderness.

The five girls formed a circle around the lantern. Their shadows danced on the canvas, like those of children sharing a secret around a fire.

And in this bubble suspended out of time, they spoke. Of memories, of past loves, of crazy dreams. Laughter broke out, sincere, free.

Long time.

Then silence set in. The laughter faded. Maelis gently covered Liora, who had fallen asleep against her shoulder.

Nesha, motionless, looked at the light as if she wanted to engrave it in her soul.

One after the other, they lay down, snuggled under their blankets, their hearts a little lighter.

And finally, Cecilia approached Aryna. She slid slowly against her.

"Say, Aryna..." she whispered, in a soft voice.

"Hm? " replied the latter, with her eyes half-closed.

"If I ever die tomorrow... you think I could come back as a spirit. As in the legends. "

Aryna slowly turned her head, closed her fingers, and patted her on the head.

"Don't say anything. You won't die so easily. "

Cecilia laughs softly while rubbing her head.

"Booh... I'll come back just to haunt our dear captain," she said while hugging Aryna with an almost childish smile.

Aryna pretended to fall asleep and whispered in a soft voice:

"If you die without my permission... I will come and pick you up myself in the world of the dead. I will bring you back, and when you wake up, I will hit you for daring to leave without my permission. "

Cecilia smiled, her eyes on her... before falling asleep against her. Without knowing the cruel fate that would hit them.

Back on the battlefield :

Aryna remained frozen.

In front of her, Cecilia's soiled corpse. Desecrated. Reanimated and transformed into a puppet by Myrren.

His body was shaking. His aura was faltering. A silent tear slid on his cheek, drawing a line on the dust.

Standing, head down, his sword in his hands, his heart broke.

In his empty gaze, his lips whispered:

" Cecilia... it can't be you... You promised us... to get back together, idiot"

"So why? ... Why did you break your promise? Why are you on the side of this abomination?" She said in a trembling voice.

His words died in the void.

His companions saw Aryna falter on the verge of collapse. Because Cecilia... was much more than a friend. She had been the big sister Aryna had never had.

She had protected her. Lightened the weight of a name too heavy to wear. Without ever setting conditions.

Around them, the battlefield sank into chaos.

More and more dark creatures of different ranks continued to come out of the woods, mercilessly killing, their roars tearing the air. Tattered bodies, broken weapons, spells bursting in all directions.

A soldier was thrown against a rock, his torso lacerated. Two others were trying to hold a bipedal giant, but one of them was crushed between his fangs.

A knight was fighting to the death against a beast, his arm torn off, before having his head crushed by another monster who attacked him from behind.

In the rear guard, the magicians cast spells, but one of them was caught by a winged creature. The monster lifted him into the air... then dropped him violently on the top of a tree.

Screams, screams, were flying from everywhere.

But Aryna no longer saw anything and no longer heard anything.

His empty gaze only stared at Cecilia, brought back to life... like a thing.

"Why... are you always in a hurry?" She whispered, her tears flowing slowly.

Myrren, observed Aryna with delight, leaving a big smile on her lips.

She slipped behind Cecilia's reanimated body and in a soft and cruel voice, she whispered:

"Come on... bring me back the head of your precious captain. "

Myrren's whisper poisoned the little consciousness he had left in an instant.

Cecilia's body moved. Her eyes extinguished, her dark hair partially masking her face, she adopted a posture...

Not that of a puppet.

But that of a signet ring.

His former comrades hesitated, stunned. This posture... they all knew it..

"...Cecilia?" Liora whispered, her heart tight.

She rushed.

She still used her style, that of the emerald signet ring.

Nesha immediately understood: apart from her, Kael and Aryna, no one could keep up with this speed.

"Get ready! She's coming!" She screamed.

The floor vibrated under Cecilia's steps.

She was too fast and too fluid for a dead person.

But she didn't attack anyone else.

She went straight to Aryna.

The latter, still paralyzed by pain, did not move.

"Captain! " shouted Nesha.

Clang!

The impact was so violent that it kicked up dust. Aryna barely avoided it, but the force of the impact threw Cecilia backward. She slid several meters, trailing a bloody trail in the mud.

"C-Cecilia... are you still here? " whispered Aryna, empty eyes.

But the thing in front of her was no longer human.

She got up, and without a word or any hesitation, she went back to the assault.

Aryna parried, dodged... without fighting back. Tears streaming down her cheeks.

Around them, the squad was frozen.

Their swords lowered. Their hearts suspended.

Their sister-in-arms, had returned from the dead, and ended up becoming an enemy weapon.

Myrren watched them, a mischievous smile on his lips.

Then, a sharp and icy whisper crossed the air.

"You are so absorbed in my show that you have forgotten my presence. "

The whole squad felt a shiver go through their bodies. They immediately turned their heads towards Myrren.

But it was too late, Myrren snapped his fingers and the ground began to vibrate.

Hundreds of strips spropped from the ground like snakes surking their prey. Fast. Murderous. They whistled in the air, aiming at the throats, eyes, hearts.

"Shit! GET AWAY! " screamed Kael.

The squad exploded in disorderly movements.

Two knights rolled on the ground. Another barely para a strip aimed at his abdomen. Others narrowly defled the attacks, the steel whistling under the tension.

Nesha, backed up, looked up at the last second. A strip flew straight towards her. She only had a split second to react.

She reacts without thinking.

Cling!

She narrowly deflected the attack with a dagger taken at the last second.

Out of breath, she looked up.

Myrren floated above them, carried by a black mist. His smile widened, observing the young knights with a cruel sweetness.

A cruel smile.

Her bandages returned to her like disjointed limbs, wrapping themselves around her arms in a sinister dance.

TO FOLLOW...