In the church-like room, rows of benches were destroyed and scattered all over the place.
Most of the candles were out, but some were attached to the walls.
A faint blue glow.
In the center at the front, laughed Leo... or Esther
Behind him were the rest of the nobles, burnt to a crisp from Thomas' blast
At the entrance of the room near the right side, Richie sat leaning against the wall
He wasn't looking at Leo or his friends
He was looking at the ceiling, breathing unsteadily
At the center, a little In front of the door.
Thomas lay unconscious, blood draining from his lips
And beside him was Autumn
"No... please no," she begged
Autumn was on her knees, tears forming
As if reality started kicking in.
"This isn't happening... No, please no," she muttered to herself
Just ahead at the front.
The nobles at her feet rested the crown onto Leo's head
The red jewel on the crown pulsed as it made contact
The laughing Leo finally stopped
"I'm... finally complete," he said
"Your highness," one of the nobles called
The two bowed at Leo's feet again
"The great almighty-" the other noble said before pausing
"Your highness, I'm unsure what to call you," the noble said "Forgive me."
"No, you're right," he said
Leo's hand slowly reached up, brushing against the red jewel in his crown
A sickeningly sweet smile stretched across his face instantly
One that didn't belong to Leo at all.
"You may call me... Aster," he said. "Aster the Ascended"
The nobles bowed lower, trembling in awe.
"No!" Autumn shouted
She gripped the blade
She flew forward, cocking the blade back
Aster didn't react
He stretched his hand forward
Suddenly, Autumn was halted
The blade was just inches from his face
"Give him back!" she sobbed.
She struggled, but she couldn't move
As if gravity itself held her in place.
"He's gone," Aster smiled
He released Autumn
She fell to the floor at his feet
"Don't worry, in just a few minutes you will be with him," Aster said
He grabbed Autumn by the hair, raising her off her feet
She winced, eyes shut, teeth clenched.
Aster smiled at the sight of her face
"Oh my... You're so-"
CLING
Autumn stabbed her blade forward
Straight toward Aster's chest.
But-
The blade snapped instantly on contact
The broken piece fell to the floor
Aster didn't say anything else
His eyes began getting bluer by the second
"Weep in joy, mortal," he said, eyes getting bluer.
"You've been officially slain by The Ascended."
By the time Aster had finished
His eyes were completely glowing blue
No pupils.
Nothing.
Energy started crackling and building outward from them
Everything vanished.
All Autumn could see was blue energy building
She gripped the hand that held her by the hair
Struggling.
But it was no use.
All Autumn could see was the blue light building
She struggled, then stopped.
Watching as the energy got close to being released
"No," she muttered
A single tear ran down her cheek
Then-
All she could see was white
No structure.
Just an endless, empty white space
She looked downward
She couldn't even see her hand or body
Did I...
THUD
The sound of something falling to the floor was heard
Then it happened
This dimension blurred partially
Half the room was white
The other appeared to be the church-like room
She could see Aster standing still above her while she was on the floor looking up
But-
Aster was shaking, staring at nothing
Eyes unsteady.
Soon, the whole room was visible
"What?" Aster asked, teeth clenched.
"What!?" he shouted again
One eye cyan, the other gray.
Blood ran from both nostrils, gently dripping onto the floor
"L-lord Aster," one of the nobles called.
"W-What is this?" the voice cracked
It didn't sound like Leo anymore, more like Esther
Inside Leo's mind, Esther didn't sit on a throne
She was floating in an empty black space as Aster
Floating texts surrounded her.
Error messages.
Red Warnings.
The red text floated in space like a swarm of hornets
[ERROR. UNAUTHORIZED SOUL DETECTED]
[ERROR. PLAYER 3 CONSCIOUSNESS COMPROMISED: 34%.]
[WARNING. PARASITIC ENTITY EXCEEDS NPC PARAMETERS.]
[INITIATING PURGE PROTOCOL.]
Aster's eyes darted between the floating words. Her breath hitched.
"What... what is this?" she whispered.
More text appeared.
Cold.
Indifferent.
[WORLD CLASSIFICATION: SIMULATED REALITY.]
[ENTITY CLASSIFICATION: NPC.]
[THREAT LEVEL: NEGLIGIBLE.]
"NPC?" Esther repeated.
The word tasted like poison.
"I am not-I am the queen. I killed the king. I took the throne. I am-"
[ENTITY ESTHER: NON-PLAYER CHARACTER. SOUL STATUS: ARTIFICIALLY GENERATED. LIFESPAN: PRE-DETERMINED. FREE WILL: ILLUSORY.]
The words hung there.
Silent.
Absolute.
Esther's whole body trembled. Not from fear. From something worse.
"No..." she breathed. "No, I... I chose this. I planned this. My ambitions-"
[AMBITION PARAMETERS: PRE-PROGRAMMED.]
[PERSONALITY MATRIX: GENERATED AT CREATION.]
[NOTHING YOU HAVE DONE WAS YOUR CHOICE.]
Silence followed
Aster's eyes widened, lips parted
"I'm... not real?" she whispered
For a few seconds, she stood there.
Then-
She stopped trembling.
"No. No. I refuse."
"I am more than a line of code!" she screamed.
Aster rocketed forward through the void
In the distance, a faint barrier shimmered.
The edge of Leo's consciousness.
Her eyes blazed cyan, energy flowing out.
She released the pressure.
A massive beam of cyan energy fired from her eyes, slamming into the wall
The void shook.
"Raaaagh!!" she shouted.
The beam rattled the wall
Soon, she stopped.
Eyes red as she rubbed them, smoke rising from them.
Blood leaked from the corners of her eyes
She panted while she rubbed them
Briefly, she peeked with one eye
A short, single crack ran across the wall.
She stopped rubbing her eyes instantly
"What? No way," she muttered.
In that instant, the crack disappeared
Aster floated there, silent
Blood pouring from her eyes.
Hands shaking.
[RESISTANCE ATTEMPT: FAILED.]
[DAMAGE TO SYSTEM BARRIER: 0.00%]
[EJECTING PARASITE.]
"W-Wait-"
EJECT
An invisible hand seized her soul
Like a god swatting a fly.
Her consciousness was ripped backward through Leo's mind.
Tearing through memories, thoughts, and feelings that didn't belong to her
She screamed, but no sound came out.
Both she and Leo could be heard screaming
AUTUMN'S POV
"AAAAGHH!!!" Aster screamed loudly
Even the nobles had to cover their ears
Blue energy flared as Aster held his head tightly
Eyes wide, each vein standing on end
He punched straight through the floor, creating a small crater
The nobles stumbled.
"Lord Ascended!!" they called
But Aster was on his knees
Blood poured from his eyes like tears
His nose bled as well
Finally, he roared, looking up to the ceiling
Then he fell limp, his head slamming into the concrete
Autumn was already at the entrance, her back against the wall, heart pounding
Richie was at the corner of the entrance
He couldn't say a word, but his eyes were alert and locked onto Aster.
"Lord Aster!!" both nobles shouted
They were picking him up
When they picked him up, his face leaned backward
Eyes rolled back
Blood still leaked from his nose
The crown fell from his head
Just as it hit the ground,
His eyes snapped open
Grey and frightened
"L-lord Aster..." they sighed
"Let me take care of them for you," one of them offered
The noble spun around, their cloak flashing.
A crest with an eye on the back of their cloak
The noble stepped forward and clasped his hands
Autumn tried standing up, but she couldn't
Richie stood up, grunting
He limped forward and stepped in front of Autumn
Breathing ragged.
A translucent golden shield formed on his right hand
The noble smirked
One of his eyes suddenly shut while the other remained open
His hands were still clasped
Seeing this, Richie's eyes widened
He backed up, almost tripping over Autumn
But then-
"No..." Aster's voice muttered
"Huh?" The noble turned toward Aster
Then he froze
Aster held the other noble who supported him by the throat
His neck was twisted at an unnatural angle
"Lord Aster, what are y-"
Leo reached for him
But he twisted to the right and dashed
But Aster was faster
He dashed forward and pinned the noble aggressively into the wall
"My name is..."
"Leo."
At the same time, he shoved into the man's chest.
A loud crumbling sound was heard
The noble slid off the wall onto his knees
Blood formed at his lips
Leo turned around and sighed, falling to his knees
He looked at Thomas, who was unconscious
Richie looking like shit
And Autumn, staring at him
Almost like she was lost for words
"Autumn," Leo called, stumbling forward "What have I done?"
He fell to his knees just in front of Autumn
"I-Im sorry," he muttered, voice cracking.
Autumn didn't answer
She just hugged him, sniffling loudly
"I thought I lost you," she sobbed, squeezing tighter.
Richie stumbled over toward Thomas, who lay flat in front of the two
He reached out slowly
Hands shaking
His hands hovered just inches above
his stomach
A faint golden light flickered above his skin
A faint buzzing sound
Leo released Autumn and looked
"Fuck... Thomas?" he called
He hurried over toward them
Richie didn't acknowledge Leo, head low while he did his job
"Hey, is he alright?" he asked
No answer.
Leo watched as the golden light shone over Thomas
He tried to grab Thomas' hand
But before he could reach-
Richie gripped it tightlybefore he could touch Thomas
"What's your deal, man?" Leo asked, glaring at him.
Slowly Richie looked up
Eyes cold and tired, blood dried on his face
And-
No mouth.
Skin completely fused together, with the teeth pressed against it
Leo backed up, eyes wide.
Breathing heavily.
"Oh God... Did I do that?"
No answer, obviously
A hand was placed on his shoulder
It was Autumn. She shook her head.
Leo stopped.
Soon, Richie's hand stopped glowing
He began choking, or maybe coughing
But he couldn't. He shook dangerously.
Involuntary tears forming at his eyes
Autumn was patting his back
Stuttering and shaking
But he calmed down
And Thomas opened his eyes
The first thing over him was-
Leo.
He shifted instinctively, but then began clutching his sides
"It's me, Leo," he said quickly
A huge groan could be heard
It was coming from the area with the burnt bodies
Everyone moved toward it
Leo was there already
Face serious
It was Esther
Her body was badly scorched, her eyes bleeding.
Esther's wound was exactly like Leo's, except for the burn marks
"K-kill me," she said
"No." Leo answered
He turned and started walking to the exit
The rest followed.
Autumn hovered, holding Thomas' arm over her shoulder
Richie limped by himself
Everyone exited except Leo
He stopped at the doorway
He punched the wall without looking back
The whole entrance collapsed
Esther watched as the entrance got sealed, and she couldn't do anything
The squad limped through the tunnel
No one spoke
The only sound was Richie's ragged breathing
Soon, they emerged from the tunnel onto the castle grounds
Everyone stopped.
There was smoke, craters and faint traces of fog
Even the walls were destroyed
At the edge, the purple veil was growing fainter
"Bob..." Autumn whispered softly
There was a huge crater in the middle of the field
Everyone made their way toward it
Unsurprisingly ,
It was Bob.
A huge hole in his chest-area, leaving only a small piece of his side
This was what connected his lower and upper body
Autumn's breath hitched
Richie grunted
End