*
With {Sorrows of a beloved maiden}, she... Began to remember things unrelated to herself. What happened so far, with Yggdrasil, with the Invader, with the Primordial one and Eterna... Everything. And then even more.
She conjures an array of reddish black magic lights, drawing circuits and symbols into the air before it puffs up into smoke, losing all progress. She couldn't remake Yggdrasil, something vital is missing. She couldn't connect to the original Yggdrasil either, there's no signal. Yggdrasil..
Or Giselle, is in another dimension. She couldn't rely on her, especially not with her doing the most important job of fending off the Primordial one.
She was sure that no matter what, she wouldn't be able to recreate what Giselle did. What Giselle has achieved is uniquely her own, far surpassing {Feed} a long time ago. Before she knew it, Lastia was just an insignificant extra in someone else's story. More than 3 months has passed, the world has moved on since her death. Arin is now gone too, and Sariel remains on the other side of the mirror in slumber, entrusting the world to her.
The 'her' who achieved nothing, when all the confidence Sariel had in her clearly stemmed from Giselle's achievements. Giselle surpassed her own limits countless times over, surely Lastia is able to achieve the easier job of dealing with Eterna... Right, it's supposed to be easier, yet she couldn't even achieve that much. So, why was she here? A C grade, a loser. Pick any sentinel and they would do a better job.
It was misplaced expectations from the start, she shouldn't have been casted into the spotlight. It was a mistake that should never have been made. She... Was a mistake. She easily defeated Traces, she absorbed The Observer because it was weakened and vulnerable to {Feed}... And that's it. She was defeated. Her career was far shorter than Giselle's or anyone else's. A greenhorn, a liability. Someone not meant for the spotlight...
"... Are you getting cold feet?" (Alice)
"... Yes. As long as I existed, a curse has ravaged my mind and wiped my memories whenever it's midnight. I'm not destined to have the same things others could have." (Lastia)
Before she died, her curse was weakening and she was starting to remember the names of her best friends. Arin and Sariel. It was already weakening... There was light at the end of the tunnel, yet when she was almost there... She was mercilessly killed. She wasn't meant to have anything, the world dictated that she wasn't allowed to possess anything she could call her own, that's why... She couldn't do it. Someone as useless as her, will never achieve anything worthwhile.
"I don't know, and I don't care... About your curse. Sariel had faith in you, so I'm gonna ask... What about you? Why didn't you have faith in her?" (Alice)
"In... Her...?" (Lastia)
"She chose you, she believed you could save everyone. She didn't doubt it even for a moment, and yet she was full of doubt and suspicion for everything else." (Alice)
Her eyes widened in surprised, yet remained skeptical enough not to believe Alice right away, continuing to observe for anymore information.
"I... See..." (Lastia)
What did it mean to believe in someone? Was it much different than blind faith? From whence she left, she was pretty much still an ordinary person. Yggdrasil pushed her body to A grade, Giselle surpassed her body's limits and became an A grade being. The enhancement from the world tree module was temporary, but absorbing the calamity stabilised it and even strengthened the body to A grade. None of this had involved Lastia at all.
She was someone who had nothing, and because of the curse, was never meant to have anything...
"... How much longer do you guys need? I... Can't hold on any longer... " (Arca)
"... If you can't hold on, just let go. You've done splendidly pushing yourself this far. Not everyone could say they held a deity at bay." (Alice)
" But... I must make sure... That we save this world... " (Arca)
That's right, no matter how Lastia felt, the priority should be the survival of humanity. Eterna has rebelled, determined that humanity's survival attracted the ire of the Primordial one. Giselle will give way eventually, she can't keep fighting forever even if she can do something close to it. She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Bringing her gaze back up, she lets her resolve course through her entire body.
"I'll do it. I'm ready!! " (Lastia)
She steps in front of a crack bursting with light. All at once, a flood of searing heat bursts forth, exploring every bit of her skin and flesh, cooking her alive.
"{Feed}." (Lastia)
... Being the subject of Giselle's respect as her master, the object of Arin's one sided affection... The target of Sariel's rivalry. She was so much less than what they truly thought of her. A C grade, an under achiever who bowed out of the stage way too early on. Sariel, why did you bring me back to the world of the living? Despite knowing I'm not Giselle. Despite knowing how little I achieved...
This was the complete opposite. Previously, you did you best to impede me from facing the Calamity. The Invader was repelled without losses, but the forth heavenly king summoned the Primordial one and abducted Giselle away for eternity. You lose each and every one of us one by one, just what did you see in the weakest one, me? Was it a hail Mary? A gamble without thought? Leaving the mess for someone else to clean? For someone weaker... For some strange reason, it infuriates me.
I can't fight my circumstances, but I am expected to. I am expected to defy destiny, to defy a God of this world. The one and only ruling crown of the world government and the universe, representative and destroyer of culture, end of origin and mystery. I am a reincarnation of someone from mystery, even if I miraculously invoked powers from that era, they would be effortlessly swatted away.
That's why... It all came down the Lastia of this era. To {Feed} and the miracles I produce with it.
The light subsides and the dimension breaks apart. Once more, they were back on the school rooftop where the battle started.
"...? What could a mere..." (Eterna)
"{Feed}! {Feed}! {Feed}! " (Lastia)
A reddish black light explodes out of her body, it expands without end. The initial blast that broke past the bunker had killed her, but because it was the land of the dead it had no bearing. It was as if Lastia had reverted to a reflection, a being not of this world, yet it existed and interacted with it. A piece of fiction, a remnant of John Atlas' power tethered her to this plane.
She absorbed the blast meant to destroy the bunker and immediately reached A grade. As a dead person, the use magic and die right after rule didn't apply to her.
"I'm... Taking a rest." (Arca)
"Mmhm have a good one." (Lastia)
"The rule still applies to us here unlike in the bunker. I'm leaving it all up to you." (Alice)
"Leave it to me." (Lastia)