Central Continent
At the centre of the Continent lay the Abyss.
It is unknown when it appeared.
Some records state a thousand years, whilst others date back millennia.
Many mysteries surrounded this ancient behemoth; doomsday fanatics preached it to be the end of the world, and some religions called it the Gods' Judgement.
These were all rumours, crazed beliefs born from the never-ending rain of Corruption spewing from its core.
Only one thing was known to be true.
The Abyss was their enemy.
The Three Alliances fighting back against the Corruption each held one of three 'corners'.
The Imperial Alliance covered the South-East of the Abyss.
The Symbollia Alliance covered the South-West of the Abyss.
The Forge Alliance covered the North of the Abyss.
Imperial Camp was the name of the main base of operations of the Imperial Alliance. It was situated at the central back of the Abyssal Frontlines; its back faced the Ashen Falls Mountain Range.
The top 10% of students from the Imperial Military Academy were all dispatched here with the secret protection of an Instructor.
Once here they would receive the teachings of the Instructor and slowly integrate into the heart of the Abyssal Frontlines.
Thus far only the 1st Squadron arrived at the Imperial Camp.
"Status?"
Mentor looked to his superior on the other end of the crystal ball.
[Aranea is alive, her Life Signature holds strong.]
"Do we have any traces of her location?"
[We attempted to track her Life Signature but it's a dead end, it simply points at the Ashen Falls Mountain Range.]
"Understood, I'll commence a search operation."
[Don't.]
"...Excuse me, Sir?"
[Leave her be.]
"But sir-!"
[Aranea isn't an existence we can comprehend. If she lives, so be it, if she doesn't, then all for the betterment of our Imperial Alliance.]
[Inform the 1st Squadron that they shall continue their operations as normal without Aranea, and have Instructor Florin act as their Mage but only in situations where Aranea would have.]
[That is all.]
Click-
Mentor stared into his reflection through the crystal ball, the scars on his face twisted.
"Fuck."
-----
Instructor Florin told them not to expect to get their luggage back.
Luckily neither of them placed any precious items in there, just clothing and necessities. This also meant they had to get new stuff.
Funnily enough, the first thing they did in the Abyssal Frontlines was go shopping.
Instructor Florin provided them with some Military Credits and sent them off to the Commercial District of the Camp.
Walking through it, the place felt like a city which had been taken over by the military.
It didn't feel like a military compound in the slightest.
"...Sigh..." Savana trudged behind the excited Silvia.
This is where Silvia flourished and Savana withered.
It also had to do with their moods, while Savana was still worried, Silvia had thrown the whole situation to the back of her mind and was jumping from shop to shop.
Stopping in front of a souvenir shop, she poked at a tiny doll.
"I'm in danger!" The little thing voiced from its body.
"Woah. Is that Magic?" She looked at the shop owner within.
Drying his hands with a towel, "No, you a country bumpkin? That's just the power of machinery."
Embarrassed, Silvia scratched her head.
"It's a gift for children, you already a mother?"
Silvia froze while staring at the doll.
Then, she slowly put it down.
She certainly was NOT a mother.
Pouting she twirled around and hopped onto the next shop, the shopkeeper shook his head in dismay, that was another missed opportunity for a sale.
"Um- Excuse me, can I buy it?" A small, shy voice poked from beside him.
Looking at it, the wine-red-eyed beautiful young lass pointed at a cute rabbit doll behind him.
"Sure thing."
Picking it out for her, they completed the exchange and Savana rushed back to the distant Silvia with a hop in her step.
[For our-]
Savana slowed down.
[For?]
Glanced at the rabbit doll.
[Who?]
And tilted her head.
[I...]
Dark flames flickered in her eyes.
Ba-dump.
[I know who.]
Ba-dump.
A darkness splurged out from inside of her heart.
"Hurry up." Silvia called out for Savana.
"Coming!"
Ba-dump...
-----
Rattle.
A luxurious, gold-plated carriage studded with perfectly aligned gems rolled through the roads of the Abyssal Frontlines.
The escort surrounding it consisted of dozens of Holy Knights adorned in enamouring white, full-plated armour.
Their steeds held their heads high, their white manes were carefully brushed and taken care of.
The Imperial Camp came into view in the distance, the Imperial Alliance's Round Table Banner rippling high above it on a tower.
And above their carriages, another banner flew.
The Symbollia Alliance's Golden Fairy.
Sitting in the central carriage, a tall, 6-foot, stern Holy Knight sat with his eyes closed. A goldish-silver shield half as tall as he rested beside him.
His dark golden hair was studded with stars.
But even this man held his prowess back before the one sitting in front of him.
Her luscious, soft, golden hair draped over her shoulders, resting on her large breasts. If she tried pushing them up they would slip over her arms, drooping down seductively.
Yet even with such an enamouring figure, her outline; her atmosphere.
Was motherly, soft.
Holy.
Twitch-
Her wolf airs fluttered as she turned her head to face the outside world.
"Will I get to meet you again...?"
Her motherly voice rippled through the carriage, carrying with it embers of Divinity with every breath she took.
The Saintess of Symbollia was arriving.
-----
"Tiny Human, you call that a staff?"
Aranea revealed her pearly teeth, "Yep!"
"I've always dreamt of using the sword. It's just a childish dream of mine but..."
Rubbing her sheath, "What are dreams for if you do not reach for them?"
Thump.
The Realm Tear beneath them thumped, sending a rhythmic beat across the ground. A ray of purple light oozed out from within.
"Why become a Mage then?" The Broken-Winged Giant was curious.
If this insanely powerful young Mage dreamt of being a swordsman, how far could she have reached on that path?
Melancholy dripped from Aranea's eyes.
"You don't understand."
"Not just you, you too." She looked at the air beside her, "None of you understand."
The still air between them suddenly condensed with small clashes of energy.
"You'll never understand even if I explained."
Her melancholy took a pause as small probes clashed between them.
Her Mana and his Abyssal Power had already turned the mountains around them into ruins; their minor clashes had no significant impact anymore.
"I've got a question for you, Abyssal spawn."
"Ask away, small one."
Looking at the Realm Tear within the ravine, "What do you plan on doing?"
The Giant flicked its fingers, sending out a miniature spear brewing with condensed Abyssal Power.
Clang-!
Smashing into a Mana Barrier Aranea conjured up at the last second, the whiskers of wind slapped into the ground, slowly decimating the walls of the small ravine beneath them.
"Is that your answer?"
He gruffly chuckled, "No."
Taking in a small breath, "So, what is it?"
"Why don't you take a guess?"
Aranea mildly smiled at those words, he was playing with her.
Thus, she clasped the hilt of her sword, slowly pulling on it.
If he was going to play with her.
She'll play with him back.
And her next words; they were more than enough.
"Ascension?"
Scrunching his face, a decaying smell wafted from his mouth, "How?"
Aranea merely smiled back.
Her hands clenched the sword lightly, and her shivering palms and reddish eyes quivered as she took a deep breath.
The heat spreading through her body caused her to sweat profusely. But the sweat began evaporating.
"You are more than just a little girl I see."
"You're not the first to say that."
Scoffing, "I don't doubt it." His Abyssal Power ruptured from his body, bursting like a smoke cloud.
Only this cloud was a hurricane of pure, decaying Abyssal Power.
'Ascension, so this is where the lost exit point was all along.'
'No wonder I didn't know about this, this didn't exist in the game.'
Because by the time the exit point should have been used, this Realm Tear had already collapsed. Leaving it undiscovered.
-The Drowned-
Somehow she ended up the frontrunner of the First Act.
Or backrunner, heh.
Get it?
I'm at the exit?
Nevermind.
Shit joke.
Aranea chuckled at herself, "My sense of humour is fucking trash, did you know that?"
The Broken-Winged Giant responded by surrounding her with his Abyssal Power. He was attempting to entrap her.
If not for her
Enough messing around.
Squinting her eyes, Aranea finally pulled out an inch of her sword.
Black.
Swirling.
A tone of mud and pestilence.
Her blade was a representation of herself.
A Curse.
And that same word was etched right below the hilt on that black blade; in white, the words:
[Curse Breaker]
They were inscribed.
The only purity in her world of impurity.
Purging herself of Mana, it rushed into the sword, squeezing and fighting for room in that inch of space.
Piering rays of black light spewed out from that small, inch of blade that she had revealed.
Licking her lips, Aranea did the one thing she'd always wanted to do.
"
Act cool.
A separate type of madness, one belonging to someone addicted to battles glared from her eyes.
The sound of the roaring Abyssal Power surrounding her deafened.
The sound of the whistling winds quietened.
And the world paid a homage of silence.
Crack...
A shattering sound lightly echoed through the seal.
The Abyssal Power surrounding her quivered and shook.
Then.
Fwoosh...
Air spilt past the Abyssal dome, untainted.
The encasement of Abyssal Power split diagonally.
SPLASH-!
And behind the split Abyssal Power, the Broken-Winged Giant tilted its head sideways, its right ear missing as blood spewed from his head.
Below that ear, something even bigger was missing.
Thud...
Rumble-
A detached arm splattered across the ground; the black blood leaking from its severed section leaked with Abyssal Power.
Glancing down at his missing arm, the Broken-Winged Giant stared at the wound stunned.
This silence passed for a few seconds.
Then he looked up at the little girl.
At the terrifying witch, "How?"
He repeated the same question, but this time he searched for the answer to a different question.
Aranea held her eyes shut.
Ba-dump.
Wild bouts of pain ruthlessly shredded her heart.
Ba-dump.
The remnants of adrenaline intensified her sensitivity to pain.
'Ridiculous.'
She glanced at the luggage still outside the sealed area.
For it to hurt so much.
For it to be so agonising.
Even though her
'...How cruel.'
She bit her lips, holding it all back in her heart.
In her darkness.