"I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN THROUGH TIME AND SPACE, AND TAKE BACK WHAT'S MINE! I WILL NOT LET YOU REST, NOT EVEN IN DEATH!"
An image of a tree burning to ash flashed in Lucian's mind. It was taller than mountains, its golden leaves covered the sky, glowing with life.
A single tear fell from its sap, as if mourning its own demise before its trunk cracked and fell. The weight of its fall shook the earth, the impact felt around the world.
Lucian's body convulsed. His own tears mixed with the Queen's tears, sizzling on his face. He tried to crawl forward, his hands leaving marks on the rock that used to be part of the tree, maybe even a part of himself. The familiarity of the place, the feeling of being home, and belonging to it, filled his heart.
'Celine...?'
Time moved further back, showing her leaning against the tree, a content smile on her face. She wore a beautiful Varia outfit and above her blue eyes, laid a crysal. What was the most peculiar were the eighteen glowing spheres rolling and jumping around her, like pets.
"The light around you is like an arc of a new dawn. I'll call it 'Arclight', as it guides the lost souls to their new beginning," she paused as if listening to an opinion that had no sound, "Lucian...Lucian...? You think that one is better? Let me try it then...my Lucian...yes, that's a good one."
The name made his body tingle, his fingers curling into fists. He pushed himself to stand up. Another step, and another, until he reached the edge of the crater.
The lake of blue fire welcomed him with a burst of heat. He felt like he had found the origin of his existence, a place he once belonged to.
He took a deep breath before taking a step back. The further he moved away from the edge, the more the pressure on his body lessened.
'You've never lent me your powers Voice... They've been mine from the very beginning. I'm the one who's been lending you mine.'
The realization made him want to drop on the ground and laugh.
'I'm not going to let you get the seed that easily.'
He made his way back to the Varia people. They didn't seem surprised by his comeback, which made him believe that there were more survivors besides him.
The Queen's tears were still licking his skin, not letting go of him even when he was far from the source. He might need to peel them off with a knife if they refused to leave. They were like leeches now, trying to dig through his flesh to reach his bones.
The Varia people tried to hide the surprise at the sight of their Queen's tears behaving like they were marking their territory on Lucian, but the question on everyone's lips was still the same.
"Who are you?" Krystal asked, staring at the tears that glowed from under his clothes', the holes in the fabric smoking.
"Lucian Arclight," he answered.
At least something true came out of Voice. That people named their children after him to appease the God's wrath. Though the God in question was just a petty, yet powerful woman, who cursed a whole world for the crimes of a single individual.
'What's the heroine's role in all of this?'
The shackleds were helping her in the prophecy. She must be the key to destroying both Lucian Arclight and Celine Rochefort, by turning the whole world against them.
'What power does she hold to make even the shackleds bow?'
He explained to Varia people how his connection with the Corrupted Immortal might be due to his bloodline, not because he was one himself. He also told them about his parents, who died from their Queen's curse, and of course, his connection to the Tree Of Life.
The Varia people discussed among themselves for hours as they walked back, unsure of how to proceed.
People who tried to climb the mountain had either died from the Queen's tears and became spirits themselves. Or survived and agreed to serve the Queen.
"How do you obtain a crystal?" Lucian asked, looking at Krystal, who stood apart from the group.
They stared at him for a moment, then turned around, walking away.
"..." His lips thinned. Was this the end of the conversation? He was left standing like an idiot.
'Don't tell me they are jealous because I'm favored by their Queen? Her choosen one?'
He followed them, not willing to give up just yet, "I wish to form an alliance with you. I know the Queen's location."
They stopped, their heads turning in unison to look at him, "Where?"
"Her name is─"
"We've found her! We've found the Queen!" A group of people ran towards them, panting heavily, "Her powers! She's using the Queen's powers! Our Queen has returned!"
The Varia people rushed to the new arrivals, asking for more details.
"She's a pink-haired woman from the north! We've seen her bring the dead back to life! Not as spirits, but as living beings!"
'Lady Bianca?' Lucian followed after them. He remembered past Celine giving him that name after she asked him to teach her. She did not have that ability in the past and wanted to bring more life to her people. She was more proficient in causing chaos and death.
'You have a talent for bringing life to things, even the most hopeless of causes, after all,' her words rang in his head. (ch. 6.28)
He liked to fix broken trinkets, plant flowers, raise children, research, create...do anything that brought life and beauty to the world. As if deep down, he was trying to recreate what was once lost.
Lucian tried to recall the feeling Lady Bianca had given him when she tried to comfort him. It was too brief as he didn't let her touch him for long. Yet, he remembered the warmth and the sense of being more complete.
'Could Lady Bianca be carrying some of my powers inside her?'
The Varia people were ecstatic, their spirits swirling around them happily, making the air shimmer. They were ready to go and bring back their queen. They would not wait another minute. As for Lucian, they didn't know what to do with him.
"Nobody should get to the seed, not even the Queen herself," Lucian reminded them.
"She might bring it back to life," they said.
Lucian pointed at himself, "I'm alive. And I wish to remain by her side as a person, not a tree."
They ignored him, showing their petty sides, "The Queen's tears must have messed with his head. He thinks he's worthy of standing by her side. Fool."
They returned to their village to prepare for the journey, while Lucian was escorted into a dark room.
'Something is still not right.'
They didn't react to Penny carrying Corrupted Immortal's spirit in her, meaning they had no way of knowing she had a Voice as well.
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The Varia people refused trade, aid, or any form of alliance with Lucian, and his group. They didn't even allow them to leave the village until he became one of them.
Their logic was, if he had truly passed Queen's trials, he wouldn't be afraid of becoming one of them.
What did it entail? Getting a crystal implanted in his head.
And how was that done? By eating a handful of spirits.
Lucian sat in a dark room, Krystal as his guide. She was holding a net full of spirits that she captured from the forest. Some of them were shaped like butterflies, others like birds, and they were all moving inside the net.
She broke their wings, so they wouldn't fly away, and put the net on the table in front of Lucian.
"Eat," she ordered.