Far above the clouds, I and the rest of the group witnessed the horrors of the T-33's capabilities and what its fiery cannons were capable of. I stared in horror. No, this was not William's purpose; he was my friend, a person of many excellent capabilities. William was my friend who had commanded and respected higher and lower ranks in the military. Upon seeing the destruction and chaos on the ground, I refused to believe this had become of him.
"Take a good long look, idiot...Everything you see in flames is from William." Jenma clarified. "Those are the same cannons that destroyed my home, along with my Aitian's home. Cannons with writings in languages nobody understands and can translate."
As the ship cruised in the skies, hovering above the battlefield, the Ravenian military was transported to the vessel and lifted onto the boat. Aitian and what remained of his troops returned with distraught and despair as much, far too many lives had been lost. Williams' body was carried back in a stretcher with maximum security forces as they walked past all of us. I was going to intervene when Shinta's clone stopped me.
Shinta shook her head. "Don't. Your voice wouldn't reach him anymore if mine couldn't. It's entirely up to William if he allows himself to be consumed by the corruption or if he will conquer it."
"No... he's, my friend," I said as I dashed to William with Ravenian troops, stopping my advances. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!!"
"Idiot! What are you doing!?" Shinta asked.
"Halt, I wish to see what he'll attempt to do with William," Jenma commanded as the soldiers halted.
As the soldiers stopped trying to stop me, I slowly advanced toward the lifeless body of William.
I studied his body and his frames, chilled to the bone. Then I noticed something very familiar in his hand. A memory core. Suddenly, a Shinta clone and the real one touched my shoulders, along with Slovenia, who was present.
"This is who we are-" Shinta, her clone, and Sventia said synchronously. "The sacrifices meant to end all wars and all conflicts throughout the different universes."
I stared at the memory core, wondering if my guess was as good as that of my dear friend William. This would belong to MK. The one since the beginning. With the memory core in my hand, I stood up as Shinta, her clone, and Sventia stepped aside. I took two steps before a voice began speaking.
"Such a pure soul who only wishes to save those close and around him."
"Who is it?" I asked.
The Ravenian soldiers parted a path to open to a nun. However, unlike any other nun I've ever seen, you can tell that she was among the drones as she still had plates of armor frames that were damaged and scratched. She looked in her early twenties in her facial expressions and the items she carried. On her left was a staff that looked like it had been carved out of white stones. In contrast, on her right, she held a grimoire with the same language that appeared on William's cannons whenever activated. She gave me a warm, welcoming smile as she approached me and everyone beside William.
"Apologies, as a follower and a believer of the great almighty one, I must admit that I've made a mistake for not properly introducing myself before stating such a statement." The nun said as she approached closer to William, not afraid or upset at anyone or anything. "I am Sister Jeanne (Jean), one of the 8 claws of the Ravenian Empire. I can see that you and this drone are perhaps related or perhaps bound to one another?"
"He's my friend and saved me many times before, if not more than I can count," I replied.
"And you sought to return the favor by making him a drone?" Jeanne asked.
"I'd rather William be alive and well in this world than for him to be used and recycled for warmongering purposes that would corrupt his well-being," I answered.
"My dear child, perhaps it was because of this favor that had turned you and him into a monster. Life itself is full of many virtues and memories. Nobody can give and take lives as they please. It is the almighty's decision alone. Now remember that." Jeanne rebutted my answer as she whispered to Aitian, and he nodded in response.
The soldiers continued to carry William further down the hall as I was puzzled by what Jeanne had stated; she invited me, and only me.
"This way to my altar. Let us cleanse you and your friend so that you both can be enlightened and perhaps find your way and purpose." Jeanne invited me by leaning her staff toward where the soldiers went with William.
"Do I have a choice?" I asked.
"You're more than welcome to say no and stay here," Jeanne confirmed.
"It is your choice and yours alone. The almighty will reach down to help you, but only if you allow him to do so. Don't be afraid..."
I staggered and hesitated as I slowly followed the rest of the soldiers in the direction they took William. As Jeanne and I proceeded down the ship's corridor, one can only imagine how smooth and unshaken the ship's gravity made you think that the boat was a building instead of a flying fortress, or rather a castle.
As we continued down the corridor, I couldn't help but examine Jeanne's figure with the corridor lighting of the hallway. She seemed damaged but full of optimism that'd brighten anyone's day. She had a tremendous white dyed blonde hair that had faded from perhaps her many involvements in battles or other secrets. It wasn't until, upon closer inspection, that I noticed the cloak that she wore; the emblem on the back did not have a Raven like that of many things on the ship or capital. Instead, it stood out more than anything for her. She must have noticed my prying eyes and decided to speak rather than walk to break the silence.
"It's the emblem of my hometown," Jeanne said as she smiled.
"Ah, I see...I was astonished to see something other than a raven, considering it's the kingdom's emblem." I replied.
"Lord Aitian was possibly the only more merciful than the other rulers this kingdom was ever known for. However, that doesn't make Lord Aitian any weaker than that of the previous rulers." Jeanne reminded me.
"I've noticed that you." I paused, trying to find the words. "You speak and move as though..."
"Oh my, is it that obvious?" Jeanne said in embarrassment, blushing before she cleared her throat and pretended to hide her emotions. "Yes, not many know that I'm a drone, but please keep this amongst ourselves to minimize rumors."
As we ended our conversation, we arrived at her room, which seemed more like a cathedral than an altar. The altar was immensely huge, with multiple crystals that stretched from the ceiling onto the altar, where there was a stage of some sort, with numerous rows of seats and chairs that faced towards the front. As I entered, I noticed that the altar had a crystal statue made of ice, covering the entire floor with ice.
Upon the front of the altar, the soldiers placed William's stasis body and hurried out of the room. While Jeanne and I slowly approached William, Jenma, Aitian, Julie Shinta, and Lena entered the room.
"It's so beautiful!" Julie exclaimed as she studied the architecture of the room.
"By the grace of Lady Edenia, lord Aitian created this cathedral for her in her memoirs," Jeanne replied.
"Who's Lady Edenia?" Julie asked.
"Lady Edenia was the founder of the Altar of Pure Clarity. It's a religion practiced everywhere, including this world and our own." Jenma explained.
"Sister Jeanne?" I questioned.
"Yes?" Jeanne replied in an optimistic tone.
"Are you able to transcribe these markings on William's cannons?" I questioned Jeanne.
"No, such languages can't be transcribed or translated by someone with as low wisdom as me. All I can do for now is enlighten your friend and perhaps you so that you two can find your way out of the darkness and perhaps find your purposes in life." Jeanne answered as she closed her eyes and bowed respectfully to me and William.
"Deeka and Maka will stay here with Jeanne. Vinja, you will be assisting Sventia and me in recuperating our losses." Aitian commanded as he left the room with soldiers and Jenma following him.
"Shinta," Jenma stated as she passed by Shinta. "Make sure he is fit for duty once he awakens. We can't have him unstable for duty as he is the only one we can rely on for support in such harsh times."
"Yes, milady, I'll do my best," Shinta said as she bowed respectfully to Jenma as she left with Aitian and the others.
"Julie, you should go with them," I told Julie.
"No, Lena and I will stay here to keep Shinta company. Besides, I'd figure it'd be best for William, too, wouldn't it?" Julie cheerfully said as she and Lena sat in the front row seats.
"Now, without further ado, let us begin with lost ones..." Jeanne began.
Jeanne began with a bright, magical circle lighting up beneath her. She then levitated her staff in front of her, with her grimoire flipping several pages scattered around the room as she cast her spell. The lights beamed up from the floor where the outlining of the circle flew up to the ice on the ceiling and reflected down onto where I and I were.
"O great ones, hear my pleas for the forsaken and lost have now gathered here in place, with your light and your rays show them the way..." Jeanne cast, "Cleansing Rays of Edenia!!!"
Jeanne's spell was cast, and a beam shot at both William and me, where from me, only a purple blob was withdrawn from the beam back into Jeanne's grimoire. However, the beam from the grimoire to William told a different story. The beam slowly became corrupted with its bright light, which was corrupted with negative energy and corruption, as millions of blobs and soul figures began exploding into the grimoire.
Jeanne, however, stood firm as she endured; one could tell it was straining her the longer she held on. Jeanne was determined to see it through to the end. Jeanne would then absorb all the negative essence into her grimoire as she knelt on the ground with the last-ever effect of the previous soul corruption cutting off the beam from William.
As the rites and rituals were done, Deeka and Maka comforted Jeanne as they covered her in their elements, creating a shield of earth with icicles to remain soft as a blanket for her. I looked around and stared at my hands and Williams to ensure nothing was out of place. Shinta didn't wait momentarily, dashing to William's side to ensure she'd be the first for him to see once he awakened. Julie would run into my arms and hug me to see that, somehow, I'd been acceptable, at least to my knowledge.
"Y-you're hair!" Julie exclaimed while pointing at it.
"What's wrong with it?" I asked, not knowing any better.
As everyone in the room stared at me, Julie slowly backed away. I tried to reach for someone, anyone, really. However, things became grim as something vibrated violently from one of my cargo pockets. As I looked down at my pocket, it only became apparent to me that this was the pocket in which I had placed Thunder's memory core as it began leaking out the corrupted mist.
"Julie, I-" I yelled.
"DON'T LET HIM TOUCH IT!!" Jeanne shouted.
Deeka and Maka apprehended me, with Deeka pointing an ice lance to my neck and Maka using the earth scales on his tail as a weapon. I didn't feel it at first, but the floor beneath me had already become an ice prison, with me unable to move with multiple ice spears pointed in different directions.
I was stuck in an ice prison. Julie shook her head in disbelief as Lena held and tried to comfort her. When it was safe to assume, Jeanne and the others approached me to relay the news.
"Your hair glows to the extreme of the color of the predecessor of that memory core; it seems its corruption is spreading to you," Jeanne stated as she slowly approached me. "Show me your face, troubled one..."
I gazed at her, trying to not allow the lance to prick my neck, to which, upon seeing my face, Jeanne gasped in horror. Jeanne grabbed my face and studied it from side to side. As she closed her eyes and shook her head, seeing that I was beyond her grace to save me.
Julie struggled to get to me after Jeanne was done examining my face. Finally, she got close to my face and realized that my right eye's iris and most of my hair color had changed. Julie cried and sobbed as she leaned in to try to kiss me to no avail as I could no longer move my right eye.
"It's okay, everything will be alright..." I tried to comfort Julie.
"No-no...no, it's not-" Julie shook her head in disbelief.
"So, what happened to him?" Lena questioned Jeanne as if she was deep in prayer.
"The creator of Titania, or in particular, the one who enchanted this memory core, filled it with malice and negativity corruption that which will eat the bearer away if it's not quenched with its natural thirst or food- souls of the deceased," Jeanne stated.
"So, he will..." Julie questioned with tears in her eyes.
Deeka Maka, Jeanne, and all three nodded their heads. Such was the price that one had to pay to save another. Julie sobbed even more now; nobody knew what must be done. Finally, William arose to see me in a precarious state. He studied my face and looked as he tried to pry me from the prison of icicles.
"Stop! He must not be freed; he will contaminate others!!" Deeka commanded.
"Screw the contamination; this man RISKED his life for mine!!" William roared as he continued to try to pry me free to no avail.
"William..." I said weakly as I began feeling taxed by whatever happened to me.
"No, nope, you're not saying your goodbyes, buddy. I'll get you out, and we'll get you help! We'll get you the help you need, Specialist!" William said as he continued to pry the prison icicles open.
"William, it's okay." I smiled weakly. "We-we just got to think outside the box right now. I'm sure the creator is on this planet, and he'll have a plan...if anything, I'm sure he's looking for you, William."
William scoffed as he and Shinta tried to set me free to no avail; Deeka wouldn't risk the Empire for the sake of a single life.
"William, please take Julie with you and Shinta, keep her safe. I'm a bit tired..." I said with the last ounce of energy.
William and Shinta didn't waste any time; they took Julie away from me as a tear slowly slid down my paralyzed right side. I didn't want Julie to see me turn into something I wasn't, nor did I want to be left alone in that cold altar prison. Deeka and Maka stood beside my ice prison, looking at me with mercy.
William and Shinta left the room with Jeanne, Julie, and Lena. William would tell me before leaving the room, "I'll get you out of here; I'll save you, Specialist...I promise."
We would exchange handshakes.
"Don't forget about me, William..." I said with a weak smile.
With that, everyone left the room, leaving me alone to stare at the Great Statue of Edenia. In my own thoughts, I would pray dearly, "I pray that the great Edenia would lay a safe passageway for those who are and about to fight. Please keep them safe so that a light may shine on their path, and they should never be lost. Never to be abandoned. So strong that they will overcome the challenges that would lay in their ways."6