Blue lights rained down upon X-You Mountain for mere seconds, leaving a trail of death in their wake. Every male mortal, regardless of whether they were idle or fleeing, fell victim to the devastating attack.
Hours later, a group of samurai gathered to dispose of the bodies. The youngest among them, his eyes wide with worry, pointed to the bottom of a freshly dug pit.
"What's that?"
His senior struck him on the head, his face twisted in disgust.
"Focus on your task! What harm could a small, star-shaped black object possibly cause?"
The senior's expression turned grim. "This entire situation leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I won't be eating meat for a long time."
The young samurai shuddered as he gazed upon the countless corpses scattered across the summit. Their village head had orchestrated the brutal massacre, a heinous act of genocide.
As the young samurai helped his senior lift Lucy's lifeless body, he couldn't help but wonder;
"Why did the Shojo instruct us to start with him?"
The senior shrugged, and the young samurai muttered. "He looks like he's still alive…"
Suddenly, a voice emanated from the supposedly lifeless body: "I'm still alive."
The two samurai were paralyzed with shock, their bodies refusing to respond to their commands.
Lucy shrugged, "The Shojo used a Tama to delay my time of death; I'm not a ghost yet."
The senior composed himself, forcing a laugh as he tossed Lucy into the pit. "I thought the shaman was playing tricks on us again! It seems the Shojo wanted him to suffer."
He ordered the young samurai, patting his shoulder, "Hurry and start the fire; I'll help the others bring the corpses over."
The young samurai's face turned pale as he cringed inwardly, 'Coward! He wants me to stay here with that talking corpse!'
As his senior walked away, the young samurai sighed, approaching the pit.
"I'll give you a quick death." He muttered.
However, upon reaching the pit, he hesitated. Lucy lay on top of the black star, his mask lodged in the hole in his gut, his expression indifferent, and his amber eyes still open.
The samurai steeled himself, focusing on his mission. He unsheathed his sword, pointing it at the pit; blue flames erupted, engulfing the edges. Sheathing his sword, he snorted;
"Such a death is an honor for a mortal like you."
Lucy, however, remained detached from his surroundings. His gaze fixed on the blue flames engulfing the pit, he forgot about him dying and immersed himself in a childhood lullaby his mother used to sing:
'In the dreams that you pursue,
May your heart be pure and true.
Like the stars that shine so bright,
May your path be guided by light.
As the wind whispers through the trees,
A soothing melody, a gentle breeze.
May your heart be filled with peace,
And your soul be wrapped in release.' (1)
As he emerged from the nostalgic reverie, Lucy saw numerous lifeless bodies being tossed onto the pyre, the blue flames slowly consuming their corpses. Despite the intense heat and pain, Lucy felt an eerie sense of peace, knowing his suffering would soon end.
His eyes drifted shut, but an image lingered in his mind: a girl with an athletic yet slender build, long black hair, and piercing black eyes. Her fair skin and average height made her appear unassuming, except for the distinctive black dragon symbol emblazoned on her silver armor.
This time, however, her eyes welled up with tears.
Lucy thought to himself, 'It's a pity we never exchanged names.'
He resigned himself to the fact that he would never see her again, something he is fine with. As the flames consumed Lucy, his thoughts dissipated, and when night came, the girl's anguish became the only sound echoing through X-You Mountain and the surrounding forest.
As she stood at the edge of the pit, her eyes fixed on the spot where Lucy had vanished into the inferno, her mind was flooded with the dreams she had; she never told anyone, and now the person she wanted to share them with was only ashes...
...her secret would remain untold for eternity.
Regret etched on her face, she pulled at her hair, as if trying to rip it out. Her eyes welled up with tears as she thought about the what-ifs.
The closest they had ever been was when they leaned on each other's shoulders, listening to her stories of adventure.
It was during her first adventure that they met.
On a fateful visit to Kororo Island, her parents had taken her sightseeing. While exploring, she got lost in a small bush. Unbeknownst to her, Lucy had also sought refuge in that bush, hiding from his mother's brutality during one of her episodes.
When they stumbled upon each other, they found themselves lost in the starry night sky. In that instant, they began talking about the beauty of the constellations, and their connection was sparked.
They were just kids when they fell in love.
The young girl continued to roll on the ground, anguish was palpable as she screamed until her voice was hoarse and her tears had dried up. The pain of losing Lucy felt like a fresh wound, despite the nearly 10 years they had spent apart.
The memories of their time together still lingered, and the thought of never seeing him again was unbearable.
As she lay there, she grasped her katana, the blade pointed at her chest.
"If I kill myself, will I see you again?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Before she could act, a hand slapped the katana away, and a cold voice spoke, "Don't be stupid! You can't kill yourself with that armor on."
The girl looked up to see her mother standing over her, a sly smile spreading across her face. "And do you want to know why the Roman Calvary went to such great lengths to kill Lucien?"
The girl's teary gaze followed her mother's hand as she revealed a small, swaddled figure.
"This is Lucien's daughter."
Her mother cooed, "The person with the strongest totem. The Roman Calvary wanted to eliminate her, but we'll use her to destroy them instead."
The girl's expression darkened as she listened to her mother's wicked laughter. With a swift motion, she snatched the baby from her mother's arms, pushing the woman into the pit, and vanished into the wind.
The mother's face contorted in shock and anger.
"She's only a year old, yet she can already use her totem to control me!" She roared, realizing that the red-haired baby had already demonstrated her incredible power.
If she wanted to, she could ensure no one would never laid hands on her again.
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(1) that's Kokoro senritsu - a Japanese song dying parents sing to their children