She did not know when she woke up, but Erta found herself standing upon a cemetery. It was uniquely hallow with a single obelisk shining a gentle golden light upon the silent land from where countless motes of light seemed to float nonchalantly.
She could not tell what they were, but they reminded her of children playing in a park. Some were chasing others, some were hiding, some were laughing merrily. It was a beautiful sight.
She did not know what this place was, but she could recognise the obelisk at the centre.
Although it was small and not as powerful as she knew it to be, it was without a doubt the Divine Obelisk. So then, does that make this land Sanctuary?
She wondered as she looked to the sky above. It was a sky like any other, dark yet glittering with starlight. But one star in particular shone brighter than all else. It shot across the blackness of space without pause, seemingly in pursuit of something it held dear.
And just as she was wondering why she was here, she heard the cry of a bird. Another star streaked the night sky, but this time, it was falling toward her.
The white blaze that coated its descent looked simply divine, more so than even the Divine Obelisk itself. She felt attracted to it, somehow forgetting the need to flee from the impact.
Fortunately, there was no impact to be had at all. For as the falling star drew closer to the ground, the white blaze dissipated to reveal only a single fluttering feather. It was white as snow, and despite its small size, it held such majesty to it.
The feather fluttered slowly in front of her, its descent slowed by the rocking of the air around it. Erta let it fall onto her palms and in that moment, the world was dyed white.
"Remember, Shizuna. One can only truly heal other souls when one has comprehended their own."
A woman with long silver hair tied beautifully behind her suddenly appeared as though in a dream. She spoke to her like a teacher would to a student. Erta suddenly found herself tearing up.
The sound of her voice, the gentleness on her face and even the quiet of the mountain peak she suddenly found herself in were stirring her emotions wildly.
She missed her, the master that she could no longer meet, the second mother who took care of her since birth, and the mother-in-law who pushed her toward her husband when she did not know anything about the world just yet.
And she remembered this moment, the time when she learned of a secret art that could cleanse the soul. It was a moment that she wished she could relive, a time she wished she could have had instead of the new life she led in Sanctuary. With a quivering voice, she spoke.
"Yes, Master."
"Silly girl, is now really the time for you to be crying? Although my idiot son does have the innate power to command souls, he is not perfect. He still needs your light."
At those words, Erta raised her head in shock. The gaze of her Master locked onto her directly. And she could tell, her Master was talking to her current self and not the one in the memory that she thought she was briefly reliving. But how was such a thing possible?
She was certain that this was a dream. The last thing she could remember before waking up in the land of the Divine Obelisk was being surrounded by wraiths and phantoms. She was overwhelmed by the desolation in their cries and with a strange attack that came from the behind the gate, she fell.
She thought this was a final dream before she said goodbye to the life she led. The only regret she had was not being able to stay with Caelum. But now, she could not help being confused.
"I told you, only one who truly comprehends their own soul can find a way to cure others'. Though I may be gone, my soul yet lives on within the feather. Or have you forgotten that I was once its keeper?"
"The feather…"
Erta looked at her hand which still held the white feather. It glowed with a gentle white light. Even now, she could feel it calling to her. And somehow, she missed it too. It was as if she found a missing piece of herself, a light that she had forgotten she even had.
Her Master knelt in front of her, taking her hand that held the feather and pushing it to Erta's chest. Erta could feel the warmth contained in the feather as it sunk deeper into her.
Deep inside her, her heart had slowly changed. It beat more powerfully, pumping more light than blood through her veins.
A dragon's roar rang out only to fade and be replaced by a bird's cry.
She had long forgotten this feeling, the freedom of the skies and the merriment of light. She looked to her Master and smiled sadly.
She knew it was time for her to go. Her Master's hand landed on her head once again after such a long time as she spoke her last words.
"Go and wake my stupid son."
In the battlefield of the unliving, Ceres kept pushing the army away with her power. But seeing Erta's fall shook her greatly.
While Caelum was like an insurmountable wall to her, Erta was the kind of person she aspired to be. After getting to know her better, she realised just how much Erta worked hard to get to where she was now.
She was proof that even the powerless could become strong, even the hopeless could dream. But she fell in front of Ceres. It was like her new-found dreams crumbled to dust.
And how could one who had lost all hope even give hope to others?
Her power waned once again. Only her unwillingness to die here prevented her from abandoning everything, even as tears stained her face.
Then a brilliant white light erupted from within the mass of wraiths around them. Their shrieks accompanied the burning of their immaterial bodies, and yet they did not disappear.
Instead, the sickly green light coming from them was slowly washed away. The white light spread out in the shape of a lotus flower and as its form sharpened, its colour changed to a more silvery hue. At the centre of the lotus was Erta whose eyes shone a pristine white.
Then she began dancing as though the cries of the wailing souls were music.
With every step she took, more white lotuses blossomed along her trail. With every wave of her arms, the petals would spin or scatter. And with every sway of her hips, the lotuses would erupt with more silver light.
The Army of the Unliving was quickly being repainted. Their sickly green changed to a calm white that left the souls at peace, no longer hungering for life nor thirsting for blood.
"You have all been through enough torment. Do not spread your pain here. Just rest and you shall be delivered soon. Samsara awaits."
Erta's voice was like a gentle stream touching the very core of the souls. Even those who have yet to be cleansed seemed to understand her words as they stopped moving entirely.
And as the unliving chorus died down, the power that sustained the gate faded away. It closed on its own, but not without a word from the soul trapped within the Frozen Throne.
"I shall return, O Merciful Serpent. For the light of the Star that once faded may yet shine Bright with the Fate of the lost. Pray that I never meet your Fox again. You as well, O Phoenix."
The battlefield became quiet. Though it was still filled with the souls of the Army of the Unliving, they were now docile, fully cleansed of the desolation of their ruler.
Ceres rushed straight to Erta, hugging her in tears. She thought she had truly lost her new family. Fortunately she was mistaken, but only Erta knew just how close she was from being correct.
She had well and truly died in that moment. If not for the fact that it was what was required for her to truly awaken her powers and even recall her memories, she would have perished entirely.
Erta looked to the swirl of black souls that was now quite some distance away from them. She had to force the Army of the Unliving away from Caelum so that they would not cause any more complications, but she was not sure how to proceed.
Although her Master told her to wake him up, now that she had regained the Light of True Soul, she wondered if it would even be the correct choice to purify the souls swarming Caelum.
Her doubt stemmed from the fact that she could feel Caelum's soul better and much clearer now. He was not in any sort of danger. In fact, he seemed to be in a rather similar state to when she met her Master again.
But while she was deliberating on what to do, a voice she had not heard in a while spoke to her.
[Mother, please use your light to heal Father's soul.]