Nyxelle panted heavily, her lungs burning as if she had been running for hours through a labyrinth. Even with her ears bound tightly in thick cloth, the muffled vibrations of the ship's activity hummed against her skull. She had scoured every corner of the decks she had been assigned to, but despite her best efforts, she had found no trace of Emerion. Exhausted, she came to a halt on the main deck to catch her breath.
Suddenly, someone slammed into her.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Nyxelle snapped, a flash of annoyance crossing her face.
She looked down to see a child. The boy didn't move or apologize. He simply stood there, clapping his hands rhythmically. His eyes were a burned, hellish red, yet a wide, blissful smile was plastered across his face a smile that reached his eyes but lacked any spark of humanity.
The boy remained silent, continuing his eerie clapping and grinning. Nyxelle's brow furrowed as a cold chill ran down her spine; she realized instantly that something was horribly wrong. At that moment, the distant song from the concert caught her ears. Even through the padding, the melody pierced her mind.
Suddenly, Nyxelle's head filled with a chaotic storm of emotions. She couldn't tell if she was feeling happiness, sorrow, grief, exhaustion, or excitement. It was everything at once. She felt her own lips and cheekbones betraying her, beginning to form that same vacant, automatic smile.
Desperate to claw her way back to reality, her mind flashed back to their planning session with Arlienne.
Flashback
"Don't let the song catch your ears," Arlienne had warned, her expression grave while her eyes sparkled with a dark curiosity.
"I have a theory that today's concert is directly related to the people who have gone missing during the ship's last four sails."
Seraphyne had remained silent, a finger resting beneath her chin in thought.
"How are you certain these things are related?"
"Before I decided to board this ship, I tracked the rumors," Arlienne explained, her voice low. "Half the passengers from previous trips simply vanished. Stranger still, their relatives or friends who were with them never showed concern, they just accepted the disappearance. Under interrogation, none of them seemed to have memories of how their loved ones went missing. But they all confessed to one common thing: hearing a beautiful song. That was always the last thing they remembered before their companions were gone."
Arlienne leaned in, like a storyteller spinning a crime saga. "The ship's crew claimed the passengers hadn't gone missing, but had 'departed midway' due to emergencies."
Nyxelle, listening intently, couldn't help but interject. "You said this happened four times. That's a lot of people to 'depart midway.' Why is this ship still sailing? Why aren't the crew in prison if they're involved in mass disappearances?"
"They aren't in prison because every Great Noble House is at war," Arlienne replied sharply. "If the authorities shut down a major vessel in a crisis, public transport collapses. The ground is far more dangerous than the sea these days. Secondly, the victims weren't important; they weren't high ranking nobles. Third, there is a total lack of evidence. And fourth? Most authorities are too busy fighting their own parts in the war to care about a few missing commoners."
Nyxelle felt a wave of disgust. She wasn't fond of Arlienne, but she couldn't ignore the girl's cold, sharp intelligence.
"How did you know all this?" Seraphyne asked, her face a mask of shifting emotions. "We know the Captain is involved in Emerion's disappearance, but could he really pull off a scheme this massive? And are you saying they somehow erase the memories of the surviving passengers?"
Arlienne smirked. "A soldier working for the Dawnveil family lost his children on a recent trip. His friends sympathized, but the man acted completely normal careless, even. He wasn't a psychopath; he loved those children. But after returning from this ship, his emotions changed. He never even tried to find them. I dug deeper and found the problem wasn't with the man it was the ship."
She paused for dramatic effect. "This ship wasn't even slightly damaged during those sails. It didn't even function on a Leviacore before the rumors started. The previous tickets were cheap because it was a slow, traditional vessel. It's only recently they shifted to a Leviacore the ultimate symbol of the elite."
Nyxelle's eyes widened as the dots connected. "Without a Leviacore, nobles and wealthy merchants won't travel because it's too slow. That means... the crew used the profit from the missing people to upgrade to a Leviacore operated ship. So the ship's crew didn't want Emerion or Anathema to be an obstacle in their way."
"They benefited by... by selling organs," Seraphyne whispered.
The horror on Seraphyne's face was absolute. Nyxelle looked at her mother, confused. "Where did that come from, Mother? I didn't think they'd profit that way."
"In my field, organ transplants are in high demand," Seraphyne said, her voice trembling. "Because of the war, Miravale's hospitals are overflowing with injured soldiers. We often need to replace organs that are damaged beyond healing. They cost a fortune. Nobles buy them, and sometimes even healers buy them for their patients. Recently... I have been able to get high quality organs at a very cheap price."
Seraphyne suddenly grabbed a nearby bag and vomited, her body racking with disgust. Tears of horror blurred her vision. "I became a medic because I thought it was a non violent way to help. I thought I was giving people a new life... I didn't know I was using the organs of innocent people."
She sobbed uncontrollably, the weight of her perceived hypocrisy crushing her.
"Don't blame yourself, Mother," Nyxelle said, placing her hands firmly on her mother's shoulders. "You did what was right. You didn't know."
"Nyxelle is right, Aunt," Arlienne added, her expression turning steel hard. "It's not your fault. But you can avenge those innocent lives and save more people today.
Sometimes, violence is the only way to defend. Now, remember the plan: cover your ears. Don't let the song influence your mind."
"None..." Seraphyne muttered, her voice darkening into something cold and terrifying. "None of you will go back alive."
The sheer murderous intent in her tone surprised both Arlienne and Nyxelle.
"That's the spirit," Arlienne said, raising her fist high in a declaration of war. "Now, let's save my brother... no, let's save the ship!"
"Before we go," Nyxelle asked, "if we still hear the song, what should we do?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Arlienne admitted. "But it's best to ignore it. Think of something else. Or, as soon as you feel the influence, pinch your tongue or your skin. Use the pain to break the spell."
"Distracting the senses from enjoying the song," Seraphyne noted, her eyes determined as she wiped her mouth.
"Alright," Arlienne said, summoning her trident. "It's time."
Present Day
Nyxelle's mind was flooded with a tidal wave of emotions all at once; it was nearly impossible to think straight. She wondered if this was the end if she was going to die, and that was why she was rembering these moments. But she didn't want to die here, not like this. She had so many dreams to fulfill, so many poisons to experiment with, and so much more to learn about the art of healing.
She felt her lips and cheekbones still fighting to form that vacant smile, yet she resisted desperately. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up.
"Damn it," Nyxelle managed to choke out, forcing her facial muscles to move. In the struggle for control, she bit her tongue again as her muscles refused to obey her will.
A sharp pain surged through her entire body. She collapsed onto her knees, clutching her hands close to her face, her expression a jagged mix of physical agony and mental frustration. Suddenly, she realized the song had stopped having its effect on her. Feeling the spell break, she quickly scrambled up and slapped the kid on his cheek with all her might.
Shift to the Control Room
The Control Room was a roaring furnace. The area was filled with thick, black smoke, and Arlienne watched the destruction from the hallway. If she didn't act fast, the fire would reach the corridor soon. In the background, Rui's voice continued to echo as he desperately tried to wake the unconscious Ryuuken.
"Ryuuken, wake up... Ryuuken!" Rui cried, shaking his friend, but he received no response.
"Will you be quiet for a moment? I am trying to think here," Arlienne said, trying to maintain a calm voice despite the chaos and the annoying sound of Rui's shouting. "The shouting won't help. He needs healing, he has lost too much blood."
Hearing Arlienne, Rui stopped. His eyes widened with a paralyzing mix of horror and hope. "He lost a lot of blood..." Rui muttered to himself, repeating her words. His face showed deep despair, but it quickly flickered with a small sign of hope.
"Can you heal him, please?" Rui asked, looking up at Arlienne. He was not fond of the idea of taking help from a Dawnveil, but he knew if he didn't, he would lose his friend.
"What makes you think I know healing magic? And even if I knew, why would I help you?" Arlienne said, looking down at Rui. Her eyes turned cold in his sight.
Rui felt like a fool for even expecting her to help. He should have known better. He clenched his head in frustration, feeling utterly useless at being unable to save his friend. He had lost Leon nine years ago.
On that night, he had seen Lord Corvus cut into pieces by Aurelith. He had been too weak to even put up a fight. Like a coward, he had passed out, and his friend Leon went missing, he still didn't know if Leon was alive or dead. Since that night, Rui and Ryuuken had worked tirelessly to improve their skills, yet somehow, Rui felt he was still falling behind.
Flashback
The snow was pouring heavily. The valley was surrounded by deep snow most of the time, except for a few specific places. But even those spots were slowly being covered, a sign that the true winter was coming.
Rui, lying in his bed, looked out the window. A few survivors of the massacre were burying the dead in the snow. But the bodies were far from whole. Some were missing hands, some legs, others were missing their eyeballs, and some had their genitals carved away. Rui was certain the survivors would be traumatized for life by the sight of these horrified bodies of their friends and relatives. Knowing all this, Rui didn't even try to look for his dead parents, who had been victims of Aurelith that night. He couldn't gather the courage to see their bodies in such a state. He couldn't even gather the courage to check on little Mui; shame filled his mind.
It had been a week since that bloody night, yet the streets were still full of bodies, and a very unpleasant smell could be felt everywhere outside.
His mind was occupied with these dark thoughts until he was interrupted by a knock on his front door. Rui was surprised, he thought it was probably the neighbors. He sighed and got up. His skin was pale, his steps were heavy, and his eyes were ringed with dark circles, as if he hadn't slept or eaten for days. He managed to reach the door, and as he pulled it open, he saw a brown haired boy with a grave expression, but eyes that were full of determination.
"Ryuuken..." Rui muttered.
Before he could say more, a sharp punch landed on his face, sending Rui staggering back a few feet.
"What are you thinking, hiding in your house like a coward?" Ryuuken said, stepping inside. Rui rubbed his face where the punch had landed, but his expression showed no sign of pain.
"I was thinking like a coward because that's what I am," Rui said in a quiet voice, as if he were forcing the words out.
Ryuuken sighed, feeling the same heavy emotions that now filled the whole valley. "I don't know why you think that. Iriz, who was a great assassin and never failed a mission, lost to Aurelith. I felt that woman wasn't even using her full powers. If he didn't stand a chance, we were for sure like insects in front of her. Iriz and the dead ones are the past. We are the present because we are alive. Now don't be an idiot let's train to get stronger."
Ryuuken's eyes showed a fire of determination. Rui just looked at him. He felt like Ryuuken's words could be used for motivation, perhaps to lift the morale of the whole valley, but he wondered if morale would be enough to stand against someone as powerful as Aurelith if they ever had to fight her again.
"Is Leon 'the past' as well?" Rui asked in his quiet voice.
Ryuuken paused, not knowing how to answer that. "I don't know what happened to him... but let's hope for the best. Besides, we have other tasks in hand. Leon would wish the same if he were here.Leon would want us to move forward.. Aurelith probably spared our lives because she thought less of us. We can use that as our advantage, and one day, I am sure we can defeat her."
"I wish that was true. We don't know what kind of strength she possesses, what kind of magic she can use, or what her power scale is. We are just giving ourselves false hope, thinking we might defeat her one day," Rui snapped, his voice shaking with fear and helplessness.
Ryuuken looked surprised, but his eyes narrowed. He knew it was true, but his pride and motivation refused to accept it. "So, what's wrong with false hope?"
Rui looked dumbfounded, confused by what Ryuuken meant. Ryuuken saw his expression and smirked. "If false hope helps you to stay alive, then what's wrong with it? From this point, defeating someone like Aurelith feels impossible, but we will have to take a step forward to see how impossible it is, instead of sitting here like a bum."
Ryuuken punched Rui on the head again. This time, Rui actually made a noise of protest.
"You dumb ass... I am a fool for considering training again. But I guess it will save me from being eaten up by the thoughts in my room," Rui said, getting up and dusting off his clothes.
"Don't forget your savior... false hope," Ryuuken said, laughing. Rui laughed a little as well.
"If we get stronger, then we can give this Corvus valley hope again," Rui muttered, looking at the snow pouring outside. He stepped out and extended his hand; as the snow fell into his palm, he closed his eyes, feeling the cold sensation.
"Also, we can protect Mui. He is very depressed, which is understandable. We have to be his hope too," Ryuuken said, stepping out beside him.
"I see... the boy would commit something horrible if he doesn't get some support. We should have checked on him." Rui looked at the snow, feeling regret for not being there for Mui. Ryuuken tapped him on the shoulder.
"Don't blame yourself. If you are not in your best form, you couldn't have helped him anyway. We have to be the light of hope for all the people in the valley. Even though people might laugh at us, calling our dreams childish, we will prove them all wrong. You and I are going to be the greatest knights House Corvus has ever seen."
Ryuuken raised his fist in the air. His eyes showed a fire that could burn the snow itself. Rui laughed, covering his mouth.
"Greatest knights, huh... sounds like a promise." Rui said, looking at the sky. The snow kept falling as both boys stood there, fueled by determination and (hope).