THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

I follow Anriette until she enters the place where I saw Claire's armor. But as I enter, I find Anriette completely immobile, like she is frozen. Why? Even her aura, there is nothing more about her that indicates the will to fight.

"W-why? How?"

There are no bodies in the room. Only a chair with so much blood on it it cannot have been the blood of only one person.

"So they were brought here after all."

"What?!"

She turns to me and grabs me by the collar of my tattered costume. Her cheeks, her once beautiful cheeks completely ruined by the liquid, letting her teeth appear outside.

"After you disappeared, I went by their house but they were missing as well.."

"Impossible. She said there was no need to involve them since they had nothing to do with this."

"And you believe her? That woman is evil itself. She could stab you with the smile of a baby."

"No!!!" Anriette falls to her knees and her tears start melting the ground.

Once again, you find yourself alone, because of me. Because of my cowardice. I kneel and embrace Anriette.

"What are you doing?!! Release me you murderer!!!"

Her tears are burning me and she is trying to push me away but she doesn't have much strength left, it seems.

"It's okay. You are not alone. I am right here."

At those words, Anriette's body freezes, then like a rain, her tears start falling so much the pain coming from my shoulders become unbearable but I can't let go. Just like Farner didn't let go of me, I must hold on because if I do so right now, she will be forever lost.

***

"Ahhh!!!!" She cries her heart out for two minutes or so then finally calms down.

Meanwhile, my shoulder doesn't do the same. On contrary, it hurts even more. I would like to scream my pain out as well but now is not the time for that.

"Have you calmed down now?" I grab her by the shoulders to look at her face but I almost scream from the surprise. She has no eyeballs anymore. Did her tears melt them as well? Now her face looks more like that of a deceased person with most of the skin gone.

"Y-yeah. I am sorry. I-"

"No, don't worry. The one who owns you an apology here is me. But-"

Suddenly, I receive a blow so powerful I crash into the wall. What just happened?! She didn't calm down after all?

"Kevin!"

Anriette screams my name but as I try to stand up, I find a rod with the size of a spear in my stomach, pinning me to the wall.

"Argh!!"

When I look in Anriette's direction, Tatiana is strangling her with one hand like a vulgar puppy.

"And here I thought you got better. Oh well, a chicken stays a chicken, I guess."

She removes a crystal from her stomach and throws it to the ground.

"Argh!!"

"Tatiana!!!"

I send five bullets at her and the explosion covers us all. Still, the rod doesn't budge, I punch it with Lightning fist but it doesn't even scratch it. And my raizen is right at her feet.

"And you are too impulsive."

As the smoke dissipates, she is still standing, holding Anriette. And there is a second crystal on the floor already.

"Stop it!!"

"You can't give me orders. We both know it."

"Fuck you!! Dammit!!" Anriette tries to kick her but with a fluid and wasteless movement, so fast I barely saw her pulling out a blade, she cuts her leg off. "Argh!!"

"And this is the last one, I think."

"Tatiana!!"

Cissa!!! Whatever you are doing!! For whatever reason you are refusing to answer me!! Now is the time to show her. To show that we can make a difference! I know I caused all this, I know I don't deserve to save her. But right now, I am the only one. So please, please!!!

I do everything I can but my draconic power doesn't manifest. So in the end, I am alone in this. you got so angry that you won't have anything to do with me, right? Fine then, I will do it myself!! I always did what I had to do, whether you were there or not. And it won't change now.

"Ahhhh!!!" I push with everything I have. My feet, my hands, and suddenly, the rod starts moving a little. Finally!! "I will kill you, Tatiana!!"

"Yeah, yeah. You already did it before."

Saying so, Tatiana removes another crystal from Anriette's head this time and she does, Anriette's body starts crumbling. Like a mud jar, she falls apart and the pieces just turn to ashes as they touch the ground.

"TATIANA!!!!!"

"Oh, Shut up already."

She releases the body and leaves with the last crystal that she took then stops at the destroyed entrance of the room.

"Do remember that this is your fault, not mine. You didn't have what it takes so I had to do it for you. Now, bye-bye."

"I will…Huff…Huff…I will ki…"

My strengths are leaving me. No, not now!! Dammit!! Move fucking body!! Move!!!

***

"Two?"

"Yup."

"What do you mean 'yup'? What are you doing here? What are we?"

"Are you for real? You can't guess where we are right now?"

"I know where we are. It's just…Argh!! Okay, okay. Listen. You know you aren't supposed to be here, right?"

"I am not supposed to be here?"

"Like right now. You are not supposed to be. You told me yourself that Cissa would erase you."

"Yeah, that's what she said. But it seems she went back to sleep."

"What?"

"Yeah. I don't know how or why either but that's what I think explains why I am back."

"And you can't talk to her?"

"Nope. I don't think she decided to go by herself because I woke back up suddenly and quite forcefully as well."

"Maybe somebody extracted her then." That would mean Tatiana somehow found a way to extract my draconic soul from me. Then I must find her and retrieve it back. That's the only way.

"Hm…Nope, she is still here."

"Eh?"

"Can't you sense it?"

As Two said that, I immediately feel it. The presence of my dragon soul. It hasn't left me.

"It's true."

"Your dragon heart is still active so of course she would still be there."

"But then-"

"I don't know either man. One thing is for sure, you got to find a way to wake her up."

"I must find Tatiana. If anybody knows what is happening, it is her. But first, I should get out of this cave."

"I don't think you will be able to."

"Why?"

"You fainted, obviously. But also, your body is damaged."

"Not more than usual."

"Yeah, but this liquid is particularly nasty. I am maintaining the body's condition the best I can but…well, you know the drill. Let's focus on healing first."

"Of course. Though, I am lucky those wounds aren't like the black flames, or I would be dead for sure."

"let's get to it."

How long has been since I had to seat like this? I really wonder. Okay, let's do this.

I focus and try to visualize how my body is just as usual but it is difficult. The image keeps popping then disappearing. Something is somehow disrupting me from fully focusing.

"That damn liquid is acting as a poison."

"Could it be…Angas poisoning?" The thing Cissa talked about before.

"I don't know but I think so. I don't see any other reason for you to have trouble now."

"Damn, now of all of times." As If it wasn't enough, my body starts fading once again.

"Yup, you are dying. Again."

"You say that as if it doesn't concern you!"

"Ain't nothing I can do about it, mate."

"Shit!!!"

My body gradually fades until everything turns dark. Is this really death? It is so cold, there is nothing here. So this is what Excafol and Selene saw. This is where they are living. In my case, I can understand it is the price to pay for what I have done. For all my sins and my mistakes. But in their cases, if this is how they were repaid for their kindness, I can't tolerate it.

They may have done some bad deeds in their life, though I don't think they ever had, but even so, they were kind people. They wouldn't deserve this.

"Why am I even thinking about this now? I am dead."

That's right. I am dead and there is nothing I can do about…Suddenly, a bright light appears, a warm light. It pierces through the darkness that enveloped me and drags my soul up.

"What is-"

"I am not going to let you die, got it?!!!! Live!!!! Dammit!!!"

Ahaha…AHahahaha! Of course, it would be you.

When I open my eyes in the real world, the first face I find is Farner, sweating bullets, together with Excia.

"Agh…" I try to speak but no words form from my mouth.

"Don't speak. We haven't removed the rod from your stomach yet."

We are still in the cave it seems. I guess I am a bit lucky.