Location: Avalon
Merlin's eyes snapped open.
Something had broken the reverie of pain she was indulging in.
Sitting straighter in her chair, she pulled out the dagger plunged in her throat in a single, smooth motion.
A soft sigh escaped her lips as the blade slid out.
Blood trickled down her neck, staining her white shirt as she frowned, her ever-shifting multicolored eyes narrowing.
It was a tremor, as if someone plucked a cosmic guitar string.
She felt it vividly.
It was the Lux strand fluctuating like crazy and lasted less than a heartbeat.
Many wouldn't have noticed it all.
But she did.
And she knew she wasn't the only one.
"Joan is going to be quite confused," she said with an amused smile.
Turning towards the tall window behind her chair, she murmured.
"The Restoration. You finally respond."
*******
Location: The Royal Palace, Camelot
Arthur Pendragon lifted his pen from the report he was signing.
It was for a moment, but he felt it.
A major shift in the Lux strand, like a thin ripple or the plucking of a string.
It was subtle but quite unmistakable.
The Lux strand, which had remained relatively stable for thousands of years, fluctuated abruptly.
Picking up his coffee, he leaned back.
Cradling the warm mug in his hands, he murmured. "A sign after millennia. The Incarni won't stay quiet."
Looking outside, he noticed the sun seemed brighter than usual, more vivid, with the light bending at angles that defied reality.
*******
Location: The Acropolis, headquarters of the Order of Lux
"YES!"
Joan whooped in triumph, almost jumping out of her ergonomic gaming chair.
"I finally got you!" she declared, looking proudly at the cut scene that followed after the end of the boss battle across her wide-screen monitor.
A month of countless deaths, an obsession that stretched through long nights, finally culminated in this triumph. She finally defeated the hardest boss in the game.
She exhaled, ready to tap her keyboard and continue the game.
And then she felt it.
First, she heard the sound of chains hitting stone. A sound that didn't come from the game or from anywhere around her.
And then…
A huge fluctuation in Lux, like a highly strung cable snapping or flexing, swept over her.
Her fingers hovered over her keyboard.
It was a significant fluctuation for her because of her sensitivity to the strand. Most warlocks wouldn't have noticed it.
Except for a select few like her.
As if on cue, her phone rang, displaying the caller ID of one of those select few.
"He has a thing with timing, doesn't he?" she murmured before accepting the call.
"What unholy stuff is the Saintess doing in the middle of the night?" The casual voice of Emperor Nero Ragnarok drawled from the other end of the line.
Joan sighed. "Hello, Your Majesty. It must be a sunny day over there at Ragnarok. And no, I was simply playing a game."
"Time zone differences can be quite annoying, aren't they?" he asked teasingly.
She resisted the urge to sigh again. "What is it, Your Majesty?"
His playful tone shifted to a serious one. "You felt it too, right?"
Joan's sky-blue gaze turned serious. "Yes. It was quite vivid to me."
"So I wasn't going crazy," Nero sounded almost relieved. "I was just on the phone with Arthur, and that insufferable prick only graced me with a frigid 'yes'. What in the bloody hell am I supposed to infer from that?"
Joan massaged her temples. Before the emperor spiraled deeper into his rants, she cut in gently.
"Considering that you do not have the Lux strand and you still felt it… whatever caused the fluctuation was immensely powerful," she theorized.
"And judging by how quickly and faint the fluctuation was, what we felt was a distant echo," Nero added. "That means the cause was very, very far from us."
"Something beyond the confines of our stellar system," Joan murmured.
"Possibly the fading echoes from the explosive death of a Lux Ardor star?" the emperor suggested, his academic precision slipping through his casual tone.
She almost forgot that this goofy emperor is also a renowned academician in astronomical studies.
"No," her voice was low. "It was too abrupt and powerful to be a stellar phenomenon."
She swallowed, daring not to say it. "It's like the energy released by an Incarnus."
She hated how ridiculous her words sounded, even if they could be the truth.
"You think it could be related to your lost Incarnus?" The emperor asked in a low voice, bringing out the very thought she had tried to bury.
"I don't want…" Her voice faltered, almost choking on her words. She let out a deep breath. "I don't want another false hope."
Nero was silent on the other side.
"And for good reason," he said at last. "You don't want a repeat of the Hectus Heresy."
His words about that horrible day stung her right in the heart.
Although they weren't blood-related, Vanis was her amazing older sister.
She was the brightest existence in Joan's eyes. However, that brightness blinded her to the darkness of obsession creeping into her sister's mind and soul.
Joan could never forget that day.
She had gone out with the other children for a picnic to the nearest park.
That was probably the only reason the children were spared.
When they had returned, it was a disaster, with the Acropolis at the center of the nightmare.
Paladins and emergency services flooded the area near the building entrance.
Being the curious kid she was, Joan sneaked inside the building.
A stupid decision that still haunts her to this day.
The halls were filled with mutilated bodies of paladins and followers, lying in an ankle-deep sea of crimson, the metallic stench and taste of blood seeping into her pharynx.
Even now, she could still hear the weeping and giggling from Vanis as her fellow paladins dragged her away.
Despite the horrifying atrocities and heresy Vanis committed, Joan couldn't find it in herself to hate her sister.
But she learned a valuable lesson.
Never give false hope.
She didn't repeat the mistake of her predecessor.
Of course, there was still an active search for their goddess. But Joan never elevated it.
She never made any promise she couldn't keep.
She wouldn't let anyone else end up like Vanis.
Speaking of Vanis…
I should visit her in the Shield.
She thought softly, a tender smile on her lips.
As soon as I get some free time.
Shaking her head, she got back to the current situation.
"Your Majesty," she addressed Nero, bringing herself back. "How about you contact Lady Merlin? I'll make preparations to visit her and get her help to figure this out."
"Already dialing her number," the emperor muttered. "I just can't handle that little witch. She thinks she's the smartest in the room."
Joan couldn't help but crack a chuckle. "Alright, mighty emperor. I wish you luck in your battle of wits with Lady Merlin."
She ended the call before he could retort.
Leaning back in her chair, she suddenly felt tired.
Looking at the game on the monitor, her mind trailed to the cut scene where the boss enemy shrugged off the chains that suppressed her strength.
Joan glanced out of the window.
She noticed that the two moons and stars were much brighter than usual, unnaturally luminous.
"Oh, goddess," she said, almost like a prayer. "Is this a sign?"
*******
Location: ????
Dr. Sigmund walked down the length of the sterile white corridor, the bright overhead light panels integrated into the ceiling reflecting off the screen of his tablet.
He was doing his regular rounds, checking up on patients while reviewing their updated files.
He still couldn't get used to the peaceful atmosphere. It was like an unfamiliar luxury.
Only a month ago, chaos had been a daily occurrence.
Patients had been extremely violent, tearing through reinforced doors, killing each other, and screaming until they were spewing out blood.
Being in charge of one of the psychiatric hospitals that houses the world's most dangerous and deranged individuals was certainly tough.
But he was chosen for his skills as both a psychiatrist and a warlock. Being a Master A ranker, he could handle difficult situations posed by his patients.
Yet, even with all his skills and experience, the tough job had nearly overwhelmed him.
That was the case until her arrival.
A young woman with no records, no relatives or friends to contact, and no past. A true mystery in the shape of a person.
She had simply appeared one day at the reception, carrying only a name.
Elizabeth Bathory.
But the most baffling thing about her was that she was utterly sane.
And she wanted to be admitted to his hospital.
It was truly baffling and wrong.
Sane people couldn't be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. By every ethical and legal guideline, they had every right to turn her away.
Except they didn't.
There was something about her that captivated them, and before Dr. Sigmund knew it, he was personally escorting her to one of the facility's finest rooms.
And another unexplainable and incredible event happened upon her arrival.
Every single patient went quiet.
The most violent and dangerous.
Those with shattered minds that could never be restored.
Even those who ripped away their skins while trapped in their nightmares and delusions.
They calmed down, and not even a single incident has occurred since that day.
Upon the arrival of Elizabeth Bathory, Dr. Sigmund's hospital had become the safest it had ever been.
He allowed himself a small smile.
She was a miracle, a blessing for this deranged hell.
As he passed her room, something caught his attention that made him stop in his tracks.
His smile faltered, and a chill ran down his spine.
Elizabeth was humming.
A low, eerie tune that curled like smoke through the corridor. The soft melody sounded utterly wrong, with a few notes repeating and then being warped into something disturbing.
This was different from her usual norm. And it felt wrong.
He swallowed and gently knocked on the door.
"Miss Bathory, is everything alright?"
The humming stopped immediately. It did not fade away.
It just stopped, as if someone had hit the pause button.
An icy silence hung in the air, heavy and haunting.
Then, a soft voice spoke from the other side of the door.
"Hello, doctor. Everything is fine."
Her voice flowed over him, soft as silk and innocent like a dove.
"I'm just… happy."
His blood turned to ice, and a terrifying grip held onto his heart. He never knew the word 'happy' could be so twisted.
Dr. Sigmund tried to keep his voice steady. "You… are happy?"
Another silence. This one lasted longer before she spoke again.
"Yes," she breathed. "A dear sister of mine is now free."
A worrying frown cut across his face as a frigid wave swept over him.
Sister? She had never mentioned any family members.
"How did you know she was free?" he inquired, his voice beginning to quiver.
Could his sane patient be developing symptoms? Is there something more to her?
Something… not human?
"I…" her dreamy voice murmured. "I just know. And I am happy."
The hairs on the back of his neck rose. Something felt wrong to the psychiatrist. His instincts and experience screamed at him.
"Good to hear, Miss Bathory," he forced himself to be professionally calm. "You know what? I'll return to you after completing this round to make sure you are okay."
The silence that followed was almost deafening.
"...Sure."
Dr. Sigmund swore he heard her voice distort into multiple voices for just a second.
He shook his head and let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.
It can't be. It must be his tired mind playing tricks on him.
"I'll be right back," he promised, getting away from the door and walking away.
As the echoes of his footsteps faded, the humming resumed into that impossible melody, softer and more disturbing than ever.
Inside the moderately furnished room, the lone figure of a young woman swayed on the bed, lost in the melody of her ethereal voice.
"Phoebe… Phoebe… Phoebe..."
The one calling herself 'Elizabeth Bathory' sang in a low voice, each repetition filled with a tender reverence that sounded almost sickening.
Her pale hand hovered over a grotesque scar in the middle of her throat. It was as if she were impaled through the neck.
After a long time, the scar had started to burn like acid.
Her crimson irises glowed, illuminating a gaze devoid of any sanity.
Reality shifted around her, warping and distorting, as if being swayed by her twisted melody.
Her lips stretched into a pleasant smile, as if reminiscing, while her eyes flickered with madness.
"You are finally free. Things are going to be fun."