Hate. A human emotion so powerful it can move entire armies to willingly march towards their fate. Victory or defeat matters not—for it will consume everything in a glorious blaze until nothing but ashes remain.
Leona felt it in her very core. The hatred for the world. The Empress' power was equally as great as it was burdensome. She tried to wield it in order to fight off her fear but time and time again, she would succumb to the strain it placed on her body.
Unlike her other self, she wasn't physically able to accommodate the sheer surge of mana inside her body. It felt like her heart was at the verge of being wrenched out of her chest.
"Ha… ah…" She fell with her knees on the snow. "Dammit!"
Her breathing was ragged, her chest burned and every single limb throbbed from pain. Despite spending days honing her body through daily training, she was nowhere near close to what the Empress was capable of. Leona's two weeks couldn't even compare to the years of hellish trials to keep her reign.
The frostburnt silver blade had fallen on the snow in front of her. She extended her hand forward and grabbed the handle. A puff of white air came out of her mouth as she exhaled.
The Empress' words became clear as day when Leona noticed her own arm trembling. It wasn't from pain, no, it was the sheer leftover anger and hatred she felt from channeling her powers.
"Why, Leona?"
A quiet voice rang in her mind as she started to feel nauseous. The heat was consuming her from inside out as each breath became shorter and quicker before she fell face first on the snow.
Her mind felt hazy—as if she was in a fever dream, until a hand suddenly grasped her arm and she was yanked forward. She fell on a cold surface and as she opened her eyes, she could clearly see her reflection against a familiar crystal floor.
"Huh…?"
Upon raising her head, she noticed a silver maiden clad in armor similar to Sylphia's. Avalon stood there with a saddened expression. She brought her gauntlet close to her breast and tightened her fist enough to make the metal creak under the extreme tension.
"Why have you forsaken me, Leona?"
Those words made Leona flinch back as she never saw her so emotionally charged.
"Avalon…? What are you…"
"I can feel it. You've grown stronger." Her eyes were welling up with tears. A sight equally as chilling as it was heart wrenching. "But you have done so without me, why? Am I not enough for you?"
"No… I…" The tactician's voice stuttered between her clenched teeth. Her head hung low from shame. "I'm… I'm not the same Leona as you know, Avalon. I'm no queen, I'm no Empress, much less a swordswoman worthy of wielding you."
"You are my wielder, my ruler!" She shouted, not in anger, but in disbelief which made Leona flinch again from surprise. "I vowed to become your weapon and nobody else's!"
Her footsteps grew closer as the tactician raised her head. Avalon reached for her collar and dragged her up on her feet with only her right arm. With her left, she grabbed Leona's wrist and forcefully placed it against her chestplate.
"Avalon…"
"Trust in me, Leona. If you cannot wield your power alone, we do so, together."
Once Leona lifted her head again, she was staring at the blade in her grasp as she laid flat on the ground. The white powdery snow crunched beneath her weight as she stood up.
Despite the cold, her body felt like it was brimming with heat. Unlike before however, it was a controlled warmth that permeated through her entire self as if her mana and emotions had become one.
"Avalon." Her grip tightened around the handle as her eyes stared at the gleaming blade. "I still have doubts about myself, but I swear—I will become a wielder worth of your power."
She closed her eyes and reimagined the moment Sylphia directed her roar at her. The mere thought was enough to send shivers down her spine as she found herself having to forcibly steady her muscles by clenching her limbs together.
"This is it…"
She muttered under her breath as she opened her eyes. A light blue glint of mana started to envelop her irises. Magic coursed through her entire body in a torrential stream of power that suddenly started to heat up her body from the very core. While this blazing surge of mana was still painful, it didn't make her body crumble under its presence like before. Avalon was brimming with so much magic that the blade started to glow bright blue.
It felt like she was making progress, but a shout suddenly caught her off guard in the middle of her training session.
"STOP!"
That made her lose her focus and suddenly that same power became too much for her body to handle. Her knees buckled and she found herself face down on the snow again.
It took a few seconds before she was able to turn around to face the owner of the voice.
"Are you trying to lose your other arm as well?!"
Robert was a few meters behind her, holding what seemed to be a prismatic rock in one hand and her staff on the other.
"Robert…? What are you doing here?" She shook off the snow and stood up "And what are you talking about losing my arm?"
"Look at your own fingers, blockhead."
"Hah?" She did as he said and to her surprise, her fingertips were indeed brittle and almost crystalized. "Ah!" She tried to open her hand but the limb felt like it was frozen solid. "Ngh…! My fingers…!"
The sage sighed as he approached.
"Let me see it." She extended her trembling hand upright as he inspected the damage. "Hmm… thankfully this is reversible."
He placed the staff on top of her hand and started to silently cast a mana draining spell. Leona witnessed firsthand her fingers decrystallize as its normal flexibility slowly came back as she opened each of her fingers.
"Haven't you learned from channeling too much mana through your other arm?" Robert disappointedly shook his head. "What were you trying to do anyway?"
"I was trying to control the Empress' powers." Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at him. "Didn't you say I had the means to control this fear of mine?"
"Yes, but not by losing your only arm." He showed her the two items he was carrying. "We'll have Avalon change into something similar to this staff you've been using."
Leona raised an eyebrow.
"Is that even possible? I thought they were all made to be swords."
"They were made using parts of a dragon, why do you think your great grandmother can transform from a towering monster to a humanoid form?"
"It makes more sense when you put it that way." She raised the sword and looked intently at the blade. "But would Avalon be okay with it? I don't wish to force her into doing this."
"Only one way to find out."
He spoke as he held out the prismatic rock in front of the blade.
"Wait… isn't that the rock I brought from–"
"Yes, it is. How did you even come across this?"
"A man from Arivaul gave it to me. He was studying something about a place under the city."
"Arivaul… is that near Akrapocalis?"
She nodded and as he was about to continue his inquiry, Avalon's blade started to glow brighter. His attention completely shifted towards the stone as it began to break down into mana molecules—dissipating into a thick light blue mist into the air before being absorbed by the metal. Leona instinctively squinted her eyes as the light began to grow brighter and the soft leathery grip of the hilt turned into a gentle warm touch of a hand grasping hers.
Kneeling in front of the tactician was a fully armored silver knight. Her helmet resembled a dragon's head with sharp slits that emitted a faint crimson glow from her eyes. Her slender body was covered in plates of armor that resembled silver dragon scales, each moving as if adjusting to her newfound form. A weathered dark blue cape hovered from behind her shoulders—avoiding the snow as if it had a will of its own.
Although she knew very well sentient weapons like her could shapeshift, Leona couldn't believe her eyes as she muttered under her breath.
"Avalon…?"
The silver knight looked up at her and nodded once.
"Yes, it is me." She slowly stood up—towering over the tactician. She reached for her helmet and removed the piece of protective gear. Silver hair cascaded from the top of her head around each side of her face. Her pale complexion and crimson red eyes contrasted greatly with her warm and kind smile. "You've finally called me. My wielder."
She had a similar aura as Sylphia. Boundless strength brought forth from kindness. But deep down Leona knew that kindness was one of a kind as she was her one and only wielder. The image of Krieg's frostbitten hand flashed in her mind as she silently closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Upon opening her eyes, she quietly glanced at Robert first.
"Can we get some time by ourselves?"
He raised an eyebrow at first but eventually nodded and started to walk away from them. Avalon had an intense gaze directed at Leona that could only be described as someone lovesick. Her crimson eyes gleamed of wonder and happiness that was unusual to dragons and it was similar to an excited puppy seeing their owner after days of their absence, but magnified by a few decades.
The chilly breeze brushed a gust of snow past them. Leona looked into Avalon's eyes and took a deep breath. Once mentally prepared the tactician decided to tell her one last time.
"Avalon, I know full well I'm no Empress nor a swordswoman worthy of wielding you as a sword to strike down my foes. But…" She extended her right hand forward into a handshake. "I will become the strongest magician of my time in order to rightfully call myself your wielder so–"
She didn't even need to finish her sentence. Avalon held her hand between hers and gave a firm squeeze with a genuine smile showing on her face.
"You always have been my one and only wielder. I'll be by your side no matter what path you choose, now and forevermore."
Confidence surged within Leona as she nodded once. At that moment both felt the sky suddenly darken and as they raised their eyes towards the sky each noticed the large platinum dragon coming down.
The tactician felt the heat escape from her body as a few beads of cold sweat started to form on her forehead. However, unlike before, Avalon stepped in front of Leona while looking back at her wielder.
"If the pain is too much to bear, remember that you have me." She smiled confidently. "Just as she drew her power from hatred, you draw yours from kindness."
Leona's shaking didn't subside completely but her words did calm her down to an extent as the tactician closed her eyes and started to reminisce about the Empress' sorrow.
'To be driven to kill one's own flesh and blood… to know their blood is in your hands…'
That glint of hatred fueled her heart in a painful burning ache that slowly dissipated with each beat as she held onto Avalon's cape.
"I'm fine now." She muttered quietly as she stood beside the silver knight. "Thank you, Avalon."
She nodded and smiled in response.
Sylphia landed on the snow ahead and spoke with Robert before transforming back into the towering platinum knight. She carried a few round green squashes in her arms.
"I hope you aren't making Leona go through your experiments again." She said with a serious tone. "If not…"
"Hey, don't need to threaten me." He raised his arms. "I'm actually doing her a favor now."
"Yeah, your 'favors' are usually quite the 'Narian angel'."
"Hey… it's not like that. Besides, I'm not Narian." He raised the staff and showed it to her. "It's just a staff."
"Laced with magic." She frowned her brows before shaking her head and eventually stepping towards the house. "You better wait for me. I don't want to see Leona like that again."
He took a sharp deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.
"Didn't take you for an overprotective grandparent."
"And whose fault is that?"
Sylphia approached the house with Robert in tow and was surprised to see everyone gathered in front. Ascalon, Avalon and Arondight were greeting each other as the sister trio had a lot of catching up to do.
The towering dragon knight stopped on her tracks as a faint smile started to show on her face.
'Who would've thought that this old platinum heart could yet still beat this fiercely…' She was content as her gaze slowly became more distant as she started to reminisce about a distant past. 'Oh father… grant me strength to live on for centuries to come. I have a reason to still live.'
The trio of weapon sisters standing side by side was an interesting sight. Ascalon was the smallest of the three while Arondight towered a palm above her and finally— Avalon who stood the tallest amongst them.
"Hmm…" Leona looked at them before turning to Sylphia with an inquisitive look as she approached them. "Ascalon chose you as her wielder, right?"
She nodded shortly.
"That's right."
"May I ask, who amongst them is the most powerful?"
"If we go by order of pure strength, the strongest would be Ascalon then Arondight and finally Avalon. But…" She raised an eyebrow. "Something feels different about you Avalon. Did you train by yourself?"
The knight shook her head.
"No, it was all thanks to Leona." She glanced briefly at her wielder before returning her gaze to the towering dragon knight. "Through her will alone I've become this powerful."
Despite still being suspicious of her tremendous growth, Sylphia decided to not inquire further and instead knelt down.
"You have done well, Avalon." She left one squash on the snow before moving her large gauntlet to gently ruffle the knight's silver hair. "Welcome home. My sister."
Despite coming off as a serious, no nonsense person—Avalon flashed a smile that seemed out of character. Leona felt a cold sharp sting through her heart, but she soon killed that sensation once she thought of the Empress.
'Your sins are mine to bear.' She thought quietly. 'Just as your strength is.'