Bewildered, Kalika looked around the white void, looking for the feminine voice that echoed around here.
"It's been a little over thirty years since we last met. Back then, you were just a mere child."
"Where are you? Show yourself!?" Kalika shouted.
"Hmm… You want a face to see, an element to visualize? I can't make something out of nothing, but I suppose I'll use a part of you to create something new."
Kalika jerked, feeling a sharp pain pierce her, and watched as a piece of flesh floated from her. Slowly, it regenerated and formed into a child with familiar blonde hair and green eyes. She cocked her head and smiled at Kalika. "There. Are you happy now?"
Kalika startled, recognizing that face as her own from her youth. She clenched her jaw and glared indignantly at the girl. "Who are you? And where am I!?"
"This space… Is the connection between our souls where all truths are bare to see. We met here before. But only once... On the day you lost everything you cared about. As for myself. Your kin refer to me as Gerna, the element that pushes your universe forward."
Kalika blurted a chuckle, then laughed out loud. Gerna, staying patient, waited with a smile as Kalika continued to laugh, unwilling to believe a word just spoken.
"It's all so ludicrous. All of it!" Kalika chuckled on with shaken hands. She took a deep and shaky breath.
"How unfortunate, just by looking through your memories, I can see that despair had completely consumed you, allowing Zorbian's curse to reshape you. It's truly sad to see one of Felim's creations fall to the same flaws of the old design." Gerna said.
Kalika Froze at once. "Wh…What do you mean? N-not this i-it has to be a-... A...." She attempted to muster words from her mouth with little success.
"A dream?" Gerna finished. "You already know the answer to that. deep down inside. But I'm sure you're not looking for answers. No. You're still looking to survive. To live again. Just like last time we met."
"Like… last time?"
"Yes. I suppose you don't remember… with everyone you loved dying."
Kalika grimaced, conflicted, and spoke. "What… What happened… Last time?"
"Are you sure you want to know? As you are now, may break more than what you are now."
"Just… tell me...."
"Fine… From the memories I see, you led a simple village life... But the day I met, your village was attacked, burned, and pillaged. You, yourself, along with your mother and father, were struck. Slain and felled by a lord's sword under the crime of heresy. Back then, you still clung to life as a fleshy corpse with a gash through your neck, and the burns Falaz's fire spread thin on your limbs." Gerna suddenly vanished from sight. "But somehow, through some miracle or sheer force of will, you managed to connect our souls."
Kalika whipped around, looking for the girl, only to find her bloodied corpse as described by Gerna.
"Back then, you drew my curiosity." Gerna stepped back into Kalika's view and absorbed the corpse into her body. "I had no plans of helping, especially once I saw that you were Felim's creation. After all, he was interfering with the fight between Zelak's children. But then I found that flaw."
"Flaw? What flaw?"
With a deadpan expression, Gerna looked at Kalika. "The very same flaw both Cassell and Zorbian suffer from. The souls that make them, them, are trapped in the flesh they were created from. And much like them, you have the same unfortunate flaw. And whether through some error or calculation, Felim anchored your soul to your flesh."
"Wh... What?" Kalika's breath strained as she prayed for doubts to fill her mind.
"Are the echoes of the truth too strong for you?"
Kalika tightened her grip and steeled her nerves, "S-so what did you do?"
"The only humane thing I could do at the time. I bestowed a few gifts to ease your life. I've passed the power to help you maintain some youth and allow your body to reverse the course of any death you may have been faced with. And the last, to reset your mind after some time."
Curious, Gerna circled, Kalika. watching as cold sweats ran down her startled face. "And by the looks of it... I might have to reset your mind now. Your very mind, as it stands, is slowly cracking and wilting away."
Suddenly, Kalika's knees gave way, and she fell on her butt. Her gaze slowly dropped lower and lower until it reached her legs. "I... I don't want to forget again. C-can't you reverse time, and b-bring me back to the very beginning?"
"You request the impossible," Gerna answered. "To turn back the time for the world itself, not only would it break the oath to Zelak, but aside from that, the feat itself would be impossible without Felim. Afterall… Time cannot move without space. We must work in synchronization at all times; otherwise, life itself would cease to exist."
"Th-then what the hell am I supposed to do! With all this-! W-with all these-!" Kalika clenched her fists, trying to muster up the word.
"You don't want to forget. But you also don't want to remember? What is it that you're afraid of? That you'll change? That someone might use you again? Or is it that you're scared of never being free again?"
Kalika and Gerna stood in a deafening silence, staring down at Kalika. She then turned her gaze to the white void, as if watching something. "Fascinating. As we speak now, your friends are trying to fight off Zorbian's avatar."
"W-what?" Kalika glanced up, seeing nothing but the white void.
"But it won't be long before his full avatar will emerge from the castle, and once he does, he will trample the entire city beneath his feet in a fit of rage. Before the morning. You will be the only person left in the city."
"B-... But why?"
"Isn't it obvious? Your vessel is that of undying flesh that can withstand his presence. He will use you as a spear against his brother and tear the whole of Rocia to pieces… Now… Given what I've told you… What would you like to do?"
Gerna's alien gaze fell on Kalika. "Do you want to shelter yourself from your world? Free to live your life in this space, away from their influence for all eternity... Or would you prefer that I reset your mind now, and rid you of those pains and memories that linger in you?"
Kalika remained silent. Hearing no answer, Gerna approached. "If you want, I can also do both for you." She raised her hand, but was suddenly smacked away, surprising her.
"Send me back."
Gerna cocked her head, confused. "But why? The only thing that's waiting for you is only sorrow and further misery. No matter what you do, you are bound to lose. Whether it be Zorbian using you as his weapon, or Cassell, weaving your destiny."
"I don't care!"
"Is that truly you, talking? Or is it the strings Cassell pulls-."
"Shut up!! You gods… All of you can go to hell!" Kalika clenched her fist, conflicted. "A-all of this is happening because I got desperate. I made a promise with Donovan and that demon Bjorn. And I want to see it through to the end…I owe him that much at least. that idiot..."
"Even if I do release you, what do I expect to do? You're trapped within Zorbian's barrier."
"Th-then I'll get out, and I'll kill him!" More determined, Kalika stood and glared down at Gerna. "Whatever it takes. That's what I'll do!"
"Oh?" Gerna Chuckled, amused. "So, you want to return with no semblance of a way to retaliate."
"I'll find a way!"
"And if you die."
"Then I'll come back and try again!"
"But what about your allies. Your companions. Neither me nor the others see them surviving this."
"Tch!" Kalika tightened her fist, glaring more indignantly at Gerna. "They won't die."
Gerna laughed at the answer given. "Huh?" Her eyes shifted around, and her head turned. "Fascinating... It seems like everyone else has drawn some interest, too... But alas, it seems Felim decided to stay out this time. You can probably sense them too, but that's likely the only extent. Unlike us, you can't see beyond this world as we can. Such is the gift Felim left you."
Kalika, curious, glanced around, her senses feeling overwhelmed, but not seeing anything beyond the void. "Why are they here?"
"Why else? Their interest is piqued. Very rarely do we come across an immortal homunculus crafted by one of our brethren who stands and talks with one of their own. Especially since Cassell and Zorbian hid and used them as their game piece."
"So, what am I supposed to be? Some animal on display to entertain you, gods?"
Gerna laughed again, ignoring Kalika, and glanced around as if gazing upon some old friends. "They're all a-buzz now. I've never seen them as excited as they are now."
"I don't care! Just get me out of here already! The sooner I leave, the faster I can help everyone!"
Gerna chuckled. "Of course. But before I release you, let me bestow a couple more gifts that may prove useful." She approached and gestured for Kalika to kneel.
With a calm smile, Gerna slowly plunged her hands into Kalika's head, shocking her. "While I can't turn back time as a pure incarnation of my element, I can tweak certain aspects of your revival; it should help prevent some level of shame for you… and as for the second…"Gerna pulled her hand from Kalika's head.
Freed, Kalika jittered, feeling her pudding-like head return to normal. Slowly, the world around Kalika began to darken. With a familiar void returning
"Hopefully, your mind feels clearer now," Gerna said. "But be warned, you cannot change the inevitable. The fate Cassell has written for you is set in stone. So don't expect to change fate again."
"Again?"
Before she realized it, she returned to the black void. Her non-existent body tingled uncontrollably and felt as if she was descending further into the reaches of the void. "D...Damn it, I feel like I'm being pushed down! This is Zorbian's doing, isn't it? The bastard! Kalika thought. She attempted to push back and shift her mind to no avail. Slowly, her mind sank deeper and deeper within the trenches of the void.
"I won't let you-! I won't let him win. I refuse to let anyone control me! Zorbian!!!" With every fiber of her soul, Kalika pushed back against the invisible force, eventually slipping from its fingers and launching back into consciousness. Her senses buzzed to life, and before she knew it, she was falling straight into the whirlpool of black sludge. "H-how did I-"
"No! That's not important!" Kalika stretched her fingers out expectantly. "Damn it!" She sneered. "I almost forgot he destroyed my dagger!" Suddenly, to her surprise, her clothes began to manifest on her. "What the hell is this???" Is this what Gerna meant?"
Kalika splashed hard into the water but clutched tight to the ground, fighting against the current, pulling her back to the core. "RRrrr. I need to get out of here fast! Before Zorbian kills everyone!" flustered, Kalika scanned around and discovered the destroyed escape. She clenched her fists, then glared, "Great! What am I supposed to do now!?"
A tremor shook the ground around Kalika, and the black sludge, once part of the whirlpool, came back alive, whipping around, attempting to push Kalika. However, she held strong to the ground with her fingers, practically penetrating the stone itself. But to her shock, the sludge that once whipped around in the chamber slowly began to rise. It rose, and rose, carrying Kalika as she was forced to swim in the rising black sludge.
"He plans on drowning me, isn't he!?" The room flooded even faster with the line gushing sludge like a waterfall. "There has to be some way out of here. There's gotta be!!" Kalika panicked as she reached the top of the chamber. Unsure what to do, she kept to the top until the very end was finally filled. She was pulled, dragged into the abyss of Zorbian's trap.
Unable to hold her breath, her lungs and stomach soon filled and choked in the dark trap set for her.Slowly, her consciousness drifted and returned to the deathly void. "Strange… Why do I feel… Wet?" The sensation of water flowing through her felt as visible as the stars in the sky. Lingering, her mind instinctively drifted towards a familiar sensation, an aura that flashed in the far distance of the void. Eventually, she reached a solid barrier. Determined, pushed against the barrier hard.
"He's there. I can't let Zorbian trap me." She pushed even harder, and her gut instinct took hold, telling her to plow on to push past the barrier trapping her. "I won't let them have their way!" With a flicker of determination, she pushed through. A weight so heavy on her pulled her back, but she swam on through the void. Through the uncharted path, she paved through the weight pulling at her, pushing until the weight lifted at last.
She pushed awake, and her vision returned along with her senses, and to her own shock, she revived high in the sky over the chaos of battle, right before the castle gates. "I…Escaped?"
The weight of gravity kicked in, pulling Kalika to the ground. Using the opportunity, she hurtled herself into the large sludge hand, battling Bjorn, and crashed through it.
At once, the hand exploded from the impact, and Kalika crashed hard into the plaza ground, shocking everyone around. Slowly, she rose from the sludge-covered crater, exhausted, and looked around, finding Bjorn, Donovan, and Zelak in complete and utter disbelief. With a sigh and a tired expression, Kalika looked over them and spoke, "I... Escaped..."