"...You lied about us being well in the future. What's that about?" Sullivan voice held no hint of rage. Rather his tone was laced with a hint of amusement.
"Like I said the Vessels held power over the land before we came. Why did you think that happened?"
"We died, didn't we?"
"Correct. Oriane died in a battle with one of the higher ups of the Vessels where the enemy emerged victorious. As for who that enemy is, I think we all have a good guess…"
"Shulia, Anatole and Sylvester were sent on a joint mission. Only Anatole came back, cursed, mad, unable to work anymore."
"What happened to the other two, then?"
"Shulia was transformed into a demon and slaughtered everything and everyone on sight, including the Vessels that turned her. On her rampage she attacked Anatole but Sylvester took the hit. Anatole then slayed her and returned with both their corpses. He later on committed suicide after a few months."
"What about me? What happened to me?" He practically bounced off the bed in excitement, like a child waking up on their birthday.
"Eager aren't we?" she taunted. "Well, as for you, you were assassinated in your sleep."
"Whaaaat? Why did I have to get such a boring end?" He slumped back, pouting.
Claudina raised a brow. "I expected more of a reaction…" She looked to the side. 'Though I also had a mild reaction when I saw myself being killed…'
He huffed loudly before sitting back up again. "But I am glad nothing of that sort happened."
"Hm? You are still going to die though."
"Yeah but not assassinated. There's a big difference. Our fates have changed after meeting you. I would say you are our lucky charm.""
She smiled. "Going by Chronos' words I would say I removed a catalyst of your downfalls."
He grinned widely. "That's the same thing!"
They both bit into their apples with a juicy squirt.
Sullivan died in his sleep three days later.
It was a solemn funeral attended by the Saints, Lord Nyx, his brother and betrothed and Claudina. There were also two blank seats in the temple pews. Claudina glanced at it after paying her respects to the casket.
A. Canterbury Castillo was written on a piece of parchment on top of one seat while the other had J. Amaryllis.
The seats remained blank all through the service and hymns.
Then it came time to bury Sullivan's casket. It was a tearful procession with almost everyone quietly sobbing. Lord Nyx stood at the front while Anatole, Sylvester and Altair held the poles of the casket.
Soon dirt was shoveled in the burial pit until the casket could no longer be seen.
Lord Nyx bent down and touched the freshly dug ground with the tip of her staff.
Luminous glowing dots raised from the grave and wound up and down like the top of a pie. After a few moments she removed her staff and the lights also moved back inside.
On the ground was a crystal tomb with dragon scales that glistened like diamonds under the late morning sun. Sullivan's face surfaced on the crystal coffin. It was almost like he was asleep.
After standing in front of his grave for a few more minutes they all headed back. Except for Claudina.
The sun had gone down and the first star was blinking in the twilight sky.
She lingered behind the others and waited for them to leave before stepping forward, a wreath made of lilies and red chrysanthemums. She placed it on top of the coffin. Taking out a candle she put it down and lit it.
As she left she addressed the tree furthest from the gravesite. "I leave you two to grieve in private."
Atlas and another man with broad shoulders came out from the shadows. The man had his face down and wore a blindfold. His top hat nearly fell down as he raced to the grave. Atlas silently tipped his hat to her and followed his companion.
Claudina side eyed them before gazing up at the night sky.
A breath left her lips as the wind rustled her mourning clothes. "...The weather is a bit hot today."
A week later Claudina visited Sylvester in the temple. Her legs walked the familiar path til she came to his door. She knocked and waited.
Sylvester opened the door a second later.
"Claudina?"
"Evening, Sylvester. Am I bothering you at this hour?"
"No, no do come in. My door is always open for you."
Sylvester invited her in. She looked around the now bare room; there was only a cot, a wardrobe and a few chairs in the corner. Everything else was already sent off to Sofia's estate while the few minuscule things were put in a suitcase which Sylvester himself will be bringing.
"I would like to serve you some tea but I have already packed up everything." Sylvester bought two chairs for them to sit on.
Claudina sank down on the chair and crossed her legs. "It's quite alright. I shouldn't take too much of your time from packing."
"I am almost done though my sister insisted I leave my things or throw them away saying she will buy me new things." He sheepishly laughed. "If I am being honest it feels strange to be spoiled for once. All my life I catered to both my younger and older sisters."
She chuckled. "I'd say it's a blessing. All good deeds deserve to be rewarded."
He shared a sad smile. "I am not sure about good…" He shook his head banishing any lingering thoughts. "So what brings you here?"
Claudina blinked. "Did you forget? You were the one who wanted to talk about Esme."
"Oh that…yes…I nearly forgot, with older sister Sylvia and the funerals." he looked down at his hands with a complicated expression. "...Claudina are you aware…what Esme, what that thing is?"
Claudina pretended to be shocked. "Goodness! What are you saying, Sylvester?!" There was a small grin on her face.
But Sylvester frowned telling her he was not in the mood for playing with her games.
Her smile faltered. She signed and leaned back in her chair. "...I can't hide it from you. The others yes, but definitely not you. I respect you too much for that" Her brows knitted together. "Sylvester," she locked her eyes with his. "What I am about to tell you must not leave this room."
Sylvester sat up straight. "...Is it something that will bring harm to the future in any way? Is it related to the greatest Evil you spoke of in the future?"
Claudina balled her fists hearing Ophelia being called Evil but she let go of her anger. "No…but no one can ever know about this. It is something that can tip the balance of the Void and Celestial Heavens."
She signed again. "I lied about Esme being the 23rd Saintess of Chronos. After the Great War the goddess Elpis had disappeared. Remember how she was lost in history with not even the gods knowing where she went. Well, Esme…is the first Saintess of Elpis."
Sylvester stood up, knocking his chair down. "T-that can't be…Claudina, that simply cannot be…"
Claudina was silent, simply staring into the distance.
"How is that even possible?! Esme, Esme…is not even human!"
"...I am not done. There is more to the story." She looked up, pleading with her eyes. "So sit down."
Shaking Sylvester fixed his chair and sat down. "This…this just raises more questions than answers…"
"I know, Claudina clenched her folded hands together. "But in order to answer those questions you need to hear Esme's tale."
In a town of Evil, there lived a family of three; a father, a mother and their little daughter.
The father, the sole breadwinner of the family would always come angry and drunk. Everyday he would lie to his family that he had yet to get paid or his paycheck was cut. The mother would stay at home and lie about how much she worked whereas she made her young child do all the work.
The child would look up at her parents while they quarreled. Their faces would soon replace the imaginary monster under her bed.
One day when the parents fought so much the mother was struck heavily by the father whereupon she immediately stretched dead. The only witness to the grisly murder was the little girl.
Then in front of her the father chopped the mother up into little pieces, stuffed them into pickle jars and left the house with them after locking the girl inside the house. The father didn't come back home for three days. By then the girl had eaten what little food was left in the house.
He had returned with the jars but there came an odd smell from it. It smelt delicious but at the same time very peculiar.
When the girl had peeked into the jars her mouth watered at the sight. Inside were meatballs soaked in brine.
Her father gave her an entire jar to eat when she asked to eat one of those meatballs.
He fed her like this until all of the jars were empty. During this time not once did he eat those meatballs and only laughed maniacally as he fed her.
A month later the father committed suicide. No one knew he had died.
When many days passed the neighbors got worried and broke open the doors. What they found was a small child crouched over a decaying body. When they turned their torches towards the child they gasped in horror.
The small child had been feasting on the body.
Not a single soul left the house that day.
Years passed and the town of evil slowly crumbled away. The little girl left the town when all the townsfolk were gone. She walked all over the world, asking for food in small towns and great continents. Her appetite was bottomless as she stuffed raw, fresh meat in her mouth.
When she finally came up to a fairy. When the little girl opened her mouth to eat it, the fairy beseeched her not to. When asked why, the fairy promised to feed the little girl until she was finally full.
The girl smiled hearing that and immediately agreed to her request. So the fairy led her to its friends and told them to watch over and not to feed her until it came back.
The fairy friends agreed and that is where the little girl remained, waiting patiently for the fairy to come back and feed her.
Sylvester sat in silence. "...I am assuming the fairy is supposed to be Elpis," he said, voice breaking.
Claudina nodded. Then she smiled warily. "It's funny no, how one's origin story is so different from the truth."
Sylvester knitted his brows, eyes widening. "Pardon?"
She looked down, her shoulders shaking. "Stories tend to be exaggerated, for amusement, to add one's own version of what should have happened." She bit her lip until the flesh bled.
"...Baron would comment on how I reminded him of the Demon King. At first I thought it was because of my Forbidden mana. It was my mistake. You have seen how Esme had attached herself to my hip. So her powers had brushed against mine and lingered enough for Baron to think I was related to the Demon King."
"Unfortunately with how much she sticks to my side and my Forbidden magic my Holy powers are being sealed."
Sylvester sprang up. "Your powers are sealed?!"
She clenched her fist and looked away. "Losing my powers is not that big of a deal." She composed herself again. "You see, when Elpis found Esme, she was in her true form, that of a chimera."
"Esme didn't find her. Elpis did. While she was traveling the world she came upon a ravaged town. There was Esme, a chimera being lured into a Void portal by demons. Elpis had stopped them and took the now human transformed Esme under her wing."
"In the town Elpis learned what took place. It had been a normal town and Esme was born to a mill worker and his wife. They were extremely happy when she was born as they had been trying for a child. However their happiness was short-lived."
"Born to humans, Esme's powers would leak out and cause chaos to her surroundings. Her parents fighting, her mother's murder and her father's suicide were all done by her powers. The townsfolk shunned them, and would egg their house when Esme's curse spread to them too. On that fateful night her father had suggested to kill the child lest they finally lose their sanity. Her mother had refused because no matter what she wouldn't kill her child."
"The fighting caused the father to accidentally push her and she stuck her head on the table hard. While her father mourned Esme came up to lick off the blood. Fearing for his own life he escaped but when he came back Esme had eaten her own mother."
"But after a month she was hungry again. Insane with guilt and remorse the father too killed himself to satiate her hunger. The townsfolk…only realized too late what Esme really was."
"After leaving the town Elpis came into contact with the five gods when she was waiting for them at Fort Pierre Plateau. There she left Esme with the Gods who took turns taking care of her."
"As she left she left a haunting message; Esme was a harbinger of evil. Her true form and age is not that of a child but an ageless abomination that lives solely for destruction. The future Demon Queen. If she is ever taken into the Void, Celestial Heavens would fall. Demons anew would rise from ash as their Queen takes part in the battle. A battle far worse than the Great war."
"Then why have you all kept her alive?!" he questioned in disbelief. "That thing is a ticking time bomb."
Claudina nodded. "Yes she is. But here's the thing. Esme is scared of herself. The things she did were enough to scar her. She has lived more years than you yet her mentality is that of a child. She's fearful of strangers, gullible, a bit shy with a love for cats. Nothing she does can convince anyone that she is a chimera."
"When Elpis left she had locked Esme's demonic powers with her blessing. As such neither the Demon King nor any demon can sense it. She made her believe she was a Saintess. But now the seal is slowly being lifted. Baron sniffed it off me when we first met."
She looked up. "Esme is not a Saintess. She is a weapon to annihilate the demons. Though the Gods will think otherwise I believe we can use her as a valuable chess piece when fighting the Demon King at last."
Sylvester was silent, mulling over the revelations he had just heard.
The future demon queen... that sentence alone is enough to instill fear into the bravest knights and paladins. What about a Saint? He struggled with defeating one of the enemies of the Five Gods and there was already a bigger threat.
He ran a hand over his hair. '...Don't think like that anymore, Sylvester. You are no longer a Saint. You retired. And...'
Sylvester glanced at Claudina sitting silently, watching. '...Claudina is a great stagiest who always has a backup plan for a backup plan. Let's trust in her and my future successors.'
"...Alright. I will keep quite about what happened today."
"Hold that thought." She took out a small knife and slashed her palm.
"Wait, what are yo-?"
But she already stretched her hand. "Swear it."
"..."
"Swear what you have just heard and said will be kept between us. That you will take it to the grave." Seeing her determined look, Sylvester took the knife, slashed his own hand and grasped her hand.
"I swear."
"Then may this Blood oath see to this promise."