Ascension - (Alarian Warriors)

Aveyon felt lightheaded as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She felt as though she was in a daze and floating. She slightly panicked when she couldn’t seem to find a place to put her feet.

“Wha-what is happening?” She stuttered aloud. Her body felt no pain, her mind immediately thinking the worst, was he dead? Was she?

“Do not fear child, the essence here is strong, it is overpowering your senses and bond.” She knew that voice.

“Lahk?” She questioned.

“Indeed, I do quite enjoy the nicknames you gave us.”

“Come sister, no time for chit-chat.” The second voice, though very similar, belonged to Atro.

“We must first restore her eye; it will help restore the balance in her body so she may harness more energy efficiently.” That was Clo, she’d never heard this sister quite so stern and serious before.

Resisting the urge to flinch away, she felt a hand being placed over her fake eye.

“The glass one will make a good medium.” One of them stated.

She couldn’t tell who that was, it was becoming hard to concentrate, was she falling asleep? The sense of weightlessness was beginning to lull her into a state of painless rest.

She was jolted awake as a burning sensation filled her empty eye socket. The state of rest abruptly came to an end.

“Stay calm, this process will be painful, we have to change most of your body structure in order for you to house the powers we are to bestow.”

What had they called it before? That’s right, an ascension. What would she become after? She was beginning to think like Vincent, believing that Ashera and Vexous were not gods, just of a different race. In the end, it didn’t matter. As long as she could gain the ability to help others with this, she would endure anything.

“She is quite determined; I like that about her.”

They were in her mind. The burning faded almost as quickly as it had come, and soon she was able to open both her eyes. Blinking a few times, she felt what was meant to be her fake eye strain. She was seeing through both she realized, completely amazed. The harsh light of her surroundings strung as she tried to clear her blurry vision.

Finally, her eyes adjusted enough for her to take in where she was. But it didn’t do her any good. She was floating gently amongst a cloud of white, it was almost blinding, with no colour in sight. The sisters of fate hovered gracefully in the air before her, waiting and watching as she came completely back to herself.

“This foggy domain is the essence that remains of Alarious. We will channel it into your body, and you will be able to harness it and that which makes up the entire realm.”

The realm housed its own essence? Like an aura for the alarians, had this been where the idea of storing a ball or energy inside a body came from, she wondered. What would happen to Alarious if it were to be removed and used up?

“It will fall the moment you use the last of its power, as you have suspected, you also won’t be able to leave while you possess such strength. Being the anchor we discussed, you will be bound to this plain until it is completely drained. We were tasked with safeguarding this realm’s essence once, and now we pass it onto you.”

This was abnormal, she wasn’t letting them into her mind.

“You do not have to, we pulled you into our space. We have no control over the outside world, but this space is ours and ours alone.” Clo smiled.

“This space was always intended to be temporary. It was our orders to guard it. But with Vexous gone, it became our prison, we cannot leave the palace grounds while it remains sealed in here.” Atro added.

“Many things, how do you say... got a little out of hand.” Lahk Commented.

An abundance of thoughts ran through her head, she still had so much to learn. How long had they been here? Had they been here all along? Even when her father had banished her, why only now were they acting as if they had this power to pass along?

“We realize that we should have taken action sooner. Even with no way to exit this place, we could have reached out long before you were trapped and closed off from us.” The sisters took turns speaking.

“It was wrong of us to stay hidden for so long.”

“We were unsure of our impact on the world.”

“But now the world is dying.”

“You’ve proven yourself just as Vexous said you would.”

“We cannot do anything directly as we are bound here, but you can free us. From there we can begin to make changes, changes for this realm and the Earth.”

“I do not mean to be rude; however, should we not hurry along with... whatever it is we are doing?” Aveyon asked. They would have time for idle chit-chat later, she was incredibly concerned about being away from the battlefield for so long.

The three nodded in understanding, as they moved closer to her, surrounding her. She began to grow nervous, not out of fear but out of the unknown.

Lahk was the one to give the intrusions. “Sisters, please take a side.”

Clo moved to her left side, taking hold of her hand with a gentle grip. “I am sorry for what is about to happen.” She added with a shy smile, uncertainty crossing her features.

“Atro, if you would, the other please.” Lahk Continued.

The woman followed suit taking hold of Aveyon’s other hand.

“And I will focus on her centre, working downward through the legs.” Lahk Placed the palm of her hands over Aveyon’s torso about to begin when her eyes widened ever so slightly. She glanced at the other two, they smiled and nodded, indicating that they were ready.

“Begin when I say.”

Aveyon felt the soft touch of their robes as they coiled around her limbs. She grew stiff as her body was tightly wrapped and held in place, but she oddly felt she could trust them. She didn’t enjoy being bound but was sure it was necessary for what was to come. She felt an overwhelming warmth spread from within her abdomen, it wasn’t painful, it was almost caring, comforting. Then without warning, that feeling was pulled from her. In its place, a cold emptiness remained like she had lost something important, but didn’t know what, or the meaning behind it.

“Begin.” Lahk’s voice sounded again.

Aveyon frowned, they hadn’t started? Then what had just happened? She had no time to ask as her breath left her body due to the sudden shift in sensations. She could feel them channelling essence directly into her body, driving it into the deepest parts of her. Forcing it to merge with her own.

Starting from her fingertips, it felt like a burning liquid was flowing into her veins and up her arms at an excruciatingly slow pace. The same feeling began in her torso. Each fate working from their own area. Her body was trying to thrash out of reflex, but their robes held her steady. She gritted her teeth and tried to stop her body from disobeying her, to remain still. They had reached her shoulders and hips before she allowed any sound to escape her lips, but still, she did not scream.

She was gasping for air, as her lungs exploded with tremendous pain with each short sharp inhale she took. She told herself she had been through worse, but the honest truth was she felt as though they had placed her inside a boiling pot, and her skin was about to melt off.

There was no relief from the areas the essence had already touched deep within her, as it flowed, it continued to burn, scorching her from the inside out. One of the sisters continued from her shoulder to her chest, turning her direction downward, the other upward to her neck. The third continued down her legs until finally every part of her body was alive with liquid lava. Her eyes were wet with tears and her body screamed at her to move, to get away from it, but she was held firmly in place, unable to do anything but wait, and hope that it ended soon.

Then it changed. Her body stopped fighting the evasion of essence and merged with it. Completely and entirely at once.

She gasped; her body reflexively arched welcoming the sudden change in sensation. An icy cold wave washed over her, cooling her down, and giving her some much-needed relief. This time around it wasn’t nearly as painful. It felt as though her body was being cleansed of the burning, it was refreshing.

Her eyes fluttered open not realizing she had closed them, the three fates watched as her beautiful golden eyes turned to pure white. A thin purple ring emerged around the iris. Her pupils filled in with a silvery colour that seemed to ripple with life.

Releasing her from their robes, her feet touched a nonexistent ground, she felt as though she had more control over her body and the space around her.

But it wasn’t complete, not yet. She watched in amazement as her scars changed before her yes. Lifting her arms, she was in awe as a magical silver substance ran down her limbs like a river, filling in her scars. She realized it was this that was causing the cold sensation. The liquid seemed to fuse with her, much like imbuing essence with elements. The rippling silver remained once the sensation faded. Running a hand over her wrist she could feel that her skin was completely smooth now, the silver didn’t come off or fade away, it had become a part of her. Though it did appear to be somewhat alive, it shimmed and appeared to flow down and around her skin, using her scars as a canvas.

“The realm, it is a part of you now. What a splendid merge, beautiful.” Clo explained.

She looked up slightly shocked, it was oddly intriguing and indeed beautiful. She soon noticed that the fog that was once surrounding them had vanished completely, and below her, she could clearly see the battlefield. Everything was moving much slower outside of the small, locked-away space they seemed to be in.

“We now hand the reins to you, our new mistress.” Atro bowed forward, showing her respect. The other two followed suit.

Aveyon felt humbled by their display, these powerful beings before her, were bowing to her. “I wish nothing more than to be your companion, perhaps friends.”

Clo giggled, standing tall. “I have no objection.”

“Come now sisters, quickly, what we have prepared earlier.” Lahk urged the others to hurry.

Taking hold of Aveyon’s hands, she placed three vials in her palm. Inside the same silvery substance that appeared to be a part of her now.

“I am not sure how many this will help, maybe three per vial. Have a few swallow it, it should last about an hour. They will need to go through a full ascension, much like yourself, once this...ordeal has concluded. Be warned, it will not work on everyone, I advise only using it on your strongest. It will grant them the power they need to survive this fight.”

“How did you-”

Atro laughed. “We had a feeling we knew your choice would be this after the last discussion. We prepared it in advance, bottling up some of Alarious’s power to aid you. In truth, we did not expect this invasion, or we would have prepared more.”

With no more explanation needed she grasped the veils in her hand, determination in her gaze.

She felt invigorated and ready. “I have one more selfish request.”

“Already done, we worked it in with the ascension,” Lahk smirked. “What a devious plan, I must say.”

She raised a brow with a smirk. “Then, let us join the battle!” Aveyon nodded sternly ready for the next stage; all the pieces were now in play.