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Chapter 80 - White City of Doom
🕑 Added 2024-10-23 22:40:01 +0000 UTCIn a world of white, where the land stretched endlessly in all directions, a grand city stood proudly on a mountaintop. It was a city of a million buildings, stretching far and wide, with all kinds of people roaming the streets.
A constant melody played through the streets, and floating points of light illuminated each corner as the distant sun started setting.
At the top of the mountain, in the highest building, a lonely girl stared out at the magnificent landscape. The room was decorated with unusual shapes and intricate craftsmanship, giving it a luxurious feel.
But it felt cold. Everything had, ever since she was taken away.
‘... Do you know now, John? Have you told me everything already?’
Serah sat with her head lying on her forearms, staring at the setting sun. It had been a few days since she arrived in this foreign world, and she had been treated almost like a princess. With respect, care, and distance.
Only Rain had attempted speaking to her, but it was all too clear she was feeling enormously guilty for what she had done. Of the two of them, Rain was in far worse shape. And Serah wasn’t sure how much she should care.
‘She didn’t even give me the day I begged her for. Of course, I already knew that would happen, but still… I wanted to spend more time with you… Who knows how long it will be before next time?’
She didn’t dare to think about the possibility that it would never happen. John was weak, but he had the talent and determination to beat anyone if given time. And that’s what she was betting on.
‘And, of course, I won’t be resting on my laurels either. They will have knowledge far surpassing humanity regarding essence and growth here. And I intend to take what I can get. If you can’t find me, I’ll find you instead!’
A knocking came from the double door of white and golden leaves, signaling a visitor. Serah calmly got up from the floor she was kneeling on and sat on the couch in the middle of the room. Then, she signaled for the visitor to enter.
The doors opened, revealing a girl in a sheer white robe decorated with feathers and golden accessories. She had antlers on her head, but one of the points was broken off. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and she looked pale and emaciated.
“Hello, Serah,” she said, not moving her lips. The voice sounded fragile and meek, completely unrecognizable from her days traveling with John and Dennis.
“Hi, Rain. You look even worse today,” Serah replied, gesturing for Rain to sit on the couch opposite her.
Rain nodded and walked over, sitting down before replying. “I’m dealing with a loss of essence, and my domain needs to be restored… Sealing my powers, it took a toll. But nothing that won’t be restored with time.”
“That’s not why you’re losing sleep, is it?” Serah asked, knowing the answer.
Rain sighed, shaking her head. “You’re right… I just… I can’t get his rage out of my head. The hatred, the betrayal, the confusion… But revealing our mission outside of this realm would be the worst sin. Only here can his strings not reach.”
“... The Sovereign of Fate, was it?”
“Yes. That bastard will use anyone for his own gain. And his chosen ones…” Rain looked at Serah, knowing she already knew the rest.
“... Are given his golden strings, fated to fight his fight,” Serah said, completing the sentence. “It’s a terrifying opponent, fate itself. But not at all related to the Lady of Fate I know of?”
“The weaver? I strongly doubt it. She merely taps into his concept with her aspect. If she knew the forces of the universe, she would never have dared to call herself the Lady of Fate.”
Serah nodded, thinking back to John’s words. “John mentioned how the Lady was unable to affect my string. And it’s because The Sovereign already controlled it.”
Rain retrieved the dagger she had summoned to cut Serah’s string, studying the golden blade thoughtfully. “Only these Blades of Doom are capable of severing the golden strings. The greatest weapon we have to fight him. But…”
“Weep for us, and survive the doom upon you, child of the creator,” Serah quoted, knowing what Rain was nervous about—the message John had received from the last Aasvedan, through the Lord of Death himself.
Rain twirled the blade in her hand, then threw it into the air. It remained there, floating in place. “Death is a concept above even fate. The Lord has no reason to lie. Perhaps ‘doom’ is referring to something else?”
Serah was skeptical, but she tried not to show it. The group Rain was part of had taken the name ‘Doom’ to symbolize their fight against The Sovereign.
“Let’s leave that for the future. It said he would be able to survive either way,” Serah said, changing the subject. “What is my purpose for being here?”
“... Right,” Rain replied, putting the knife away and leaning forward on the couch. “Your fate is severed, but it can still restore itself if you leave this realm. And we can’t let that happen. So, the only way you’ll be allowed to leave… is if you get strong enough to resist the string of fate.”
“... How much stronger?” Serah asked, feeling a mix of joy and frustration at the situation. She understood that the group called Doom needed to keep her from following the path of fate, but they had made the choice for her.
Whatever the case, at least she could do something about it on her own.
“You need to become a weaver to be strong enough to prevent the string from regrowing. Anything less will allow him to regain control, and now that he knows we are watching over you… We won’t be able to stop it again.”
“A weaver,” Serah repeated, leaning her head back and staring at the intricate ceiling. “That’s so far ahead… How do I even get stronger here? Are there beasts to fight?”
Rain hesitated, looking uncertain. “... There are, but they belong to other domains. I only own five degrees in that direction,” she said, pointing out the window. “So the best way for you to grow is to prove your value to the other members of The Doom Coalition.”
“How would that help?”
“They can give you essence shards you can use to grow. But they are only given to the talented and… loyal. I’m sure your talent is good, though. Otherwise, the golden string wouldn’t have chosen you.”
“... Okay,” Serah replied, leaving that issue for now and turning her eyes back to the window. “How long would it take John to get here? Using your guidance?”
“It’s impossible to say… The guidance could send him to someone who takes a liking to him and suddenly brings him back here. But if it’s by his own power…” A look of worry appeared on her face as she looked at Serah. “He would at least need to reach the same level as you, becoming a weaver. But it depends on how much he values you over Earth.”
‘... Will he have to choose between us? Then I would rather wait for Earth to be safe before he comes. Even as aspecters, we live longer than average humans.’
“Why couldn’t John join us here?” Serah asked, posing the questions she had been wondering about for over five years. She had known what would happen for a long time, but not why.
“You don’t think I wanted to?!” Rain stood up and yelled, making the entire room shake. “If not for the Lord of Death, he would be here already! But once Doom was something he had to survive, how could I? And how could anyone here accept the essence of death appearing? It’s cursed!
I knew I couldn’t bring him for a long time already! But then…” She sat back down, deflated by the workings of fate. “It got so much worse when you turned out to be the person he cared about the most… I had no choice but to hurt him unless I let you become one of our greatest enemies.”
Serah looked at her with a mix of empathy and shock. She knew it was a touchy subject, but she hadn’t expected Rain to still be so volatile. “I… I’m sorry, Rain. I knew you had good reason to do what you did.”
Rain sat quietly, looking down at the ground. “... There’s also the matter of him being important to Earth for some reason, but I… didn’t really care about that, honestly… Now, I only hope that the two of you can reunite.”
Serah felt a burst of sadness when she heard that Rain had no hopes of being forgiven by John. Seeing how hurt she was by this nearly moved her to tears.
“I think John will understand it once you tell him everything, Rain. He knows you truly cared for him. But he is very confused, seeking answers.”
Rain let out a breath, not looking very convinced. “I won’t get my hopes up after seeing how he reacted back then. You speak as if you’ve talked to him after what happened.”
Serah smiled, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
‘I did just speak to him. Only, it was five years ago.’
A woman dressed in pure white stood over a young man, sleeping soundly on his mother's porch. Her blue eyes, ancient with the weight of countless futures, were filled with an impossible mixture of tender affection and devastating sorrow.
'I'm sorry, John. After everything... after trying so many times, I've finally chosen to be selfish. I couldn’t save you… But if you bring me along from the beginning, and we grow stronger together… Perhaps there is a chance?
I wish my powers allowed me to join you, but… changing the past, it erases the future. Or rather, your future. My past.’
Her hand trembled as she bent down, carefully moving a lock of hair from his forehead. The simple touch sent ripples through the fabric of time itself, forcing her to exert her Authority to contain the cascading changes that threatened to tear reality apart. Space warped and twisted around them, as she desperately worked to lock the minuscule alterations firmly in place.
‘... A simple touch threatens to erase me. And yet, what does it matter? How much suffering will I erase? How many lives lost?’
Her core thrummed with power as she channeled vast amounts of essence through her being. It coursed through her heart, moved up through her vocal cords, and gathered at her lips. Her Authority was clear in its purpose; To allow an impossible meeting, in both past and present.
'Goodbye, dearest John. I believe you have even more potential than me. And who knows?' A single tear rolled down her cheek. 'Perhaps you'll be the one to save us all...'
As light and tender as a falling snowflake, a pair of lips touched his forehead.
In that eternal instant, she felt the timeline beginning to unravel around her. As her final act, before time could completely dissolve, she whispered a single word that carried the weight of all her love, all her hope, and all her sacrifice…
“Forever.”
Comments
Nwn
Really glad you enjoyed it! I kind of feel bad about taking your money now that there's no more chapters here for a while... The mystery aspect was planned from the start, so I'm happy it worked as intended!
Crapgeezer
Happy to get a lot of answers in these last few chapters. Really loved this story 🥰🔥 Rain and Serah were both suspicious to me for a long time. I knew one of them was up to no good, but I couldn't see which one. This mystery aspect kept me so hooked and in NEED of answers.
