Colin's posts

As soon as she stepped downstairs, her arm started to throb.

But not in a way that indicated it was trying to take her over. It wasn't shrinking, it wasn't growing. It was... reacting? It felt like it was reacting to something. Like there was another presence that was... interacting with it?

But wherever she looked, she couldn't see anything.

Her arm would not 'shut up' though.

It seemed like the mana inside it was just... pulsing.

"For whatever THAT'S worth." Rene chimed in.

"So what do we DO here?" he asked.

"We find a way to take down Michael before he has a chance to further his goal." Ash responded.

"...that simple is it?" Rene spat.

"I'm just saying." Ash shrugged.

"He's the centre of all this. The structural key point of everything. It all hinges on HIM."

Ash shook his head.

"The halo's scrambled her brains a bit." he said. "She's even a little on the paranoid side." he told them further.

"I got 3 definite pieces of information from her, though." he then said further.

"Oh?" Rene asked.

"One; Michael IS, in fact, orchestrating all this." Ash informed them. "Two; In addition to stealing the holy sword Ascalon and having given it to a Fallen, he also has Azreal's Framea solis, and wants to pop the sun with it." he continued.

"And three; he's literally trying to steal Emelie's position and usurp her." he finished.

Gregory looked over towards Emelie, and gently placed a hand on her knee. He didn't know what to do for her right now, but he knew she needed support. And he was willing to give it to her.

Meanwhile, Ash just nodded.

"Bingo." he said.

"I'm clueless when it comes to this kind of thing. Like, I can be a friend, but... she needs something more than that." he told her.

"So I called someone that she has a VERY deep connection with."

Gregory looked up at her, before getting up and sitting down gently beside her.

"Yeah..." he said.

"I have these wonderful memories of when we were alive." he told her.

"And I remember bringing those mushrooms home, and a stew was made out of them. It kept for so long because of those mushrooms, and we hate it for a week for dinner." he said further.

"...that Autumn was... back when things were... a simpler time..." he then said wistfully.

Gregory wasn't sure how to prove it. But seeing her like this caused him to bite his lip, as he fell to his knees and laid his head in his arms.

"I don't know how." he admitted. "I'm sorry, Emelie." he apologised.

However, before she could say anything, he remembered something.

"Oh." he then said. "I can always thank you." he told her.

"...thank me...?" she asked in response, a little confused.

"I remember one time we were walking through the woods, and I found some neon pink mushrooms, but before I could pick them, you mentioned that they were highly poisonous to touch. And then I saw some blue ones, and you said they were fine, and when we tried them they tasted delicious." he recalled.

"That was a really nice outing."

"No worries." Ash whispered back.

"Anyway, I still have plenty to do." he then said.

"Emelie, I'll check up on you from time to time, and I know you'll find ways of contacting ME if you remember anything important." he said further, figuring that, if nothing else, Gregory could be a messenger.

He then reassuringly placed his hand on her shoulder, left it there for a moment, let go, and made his way out, giving Gregory a soft expression as he did, shutting the door behind him, and leaving the two alone.

Gregory watched him go, before setting his scythe down, putting down his hood, and walking over towards Emelie, kneeling in close to her.

"Oh, Emelie..." he said, placing a hand on her cheek.

Ash gritted his teeth.

"He shan't have it." he told her.

"We'll stop him or die trying." he said.

"We'll do it for this world, these realms, our loved ones... for you." he then said further... just as he saw a shadowy figure form in the centre of the room, and look over towards them.

"...Emelie...?" Gregory said in a hushed tone.

Ash was silent again for a moment, before going over towards her and sitting down beside her. He paused for a moment, before thinking about something. Emelie needed someone to confide in. She needed someone friendly. Someone she truly did care about, perhaps more than others. So he closed his eyes and sent out a signal to another that worked for Emelie.

As he did so, he spoke to her.

"Well, at least there's that." he said.

"A Fallen attacked me a while back with Ascalon, but I managed to beat him back, break the sword, and send him to hell." he told her.

"And Sydney was attacked by a trio of them, but killed 2, if I recall."

Ash almost took an unconscious step back from Emelie when she had her outburst. And he could understand why she felt the way she did. Everything had been taken from her. Her position, her mana, her... identity. She had LESS than when she was alive. It seemed that Michael had dealt a severe blow to her.

But he then sighed and shook his head.

"Maybe you can't fight." he said.

"But unless you were robbed of your memories, you perhaps have knowledge and information that could help us." he told her.

"I just know that heaven, hell, earth, and everywhere in between and above and below are trying everything they can to stop this from happening. To see if we can't stop Ragnarok." he said further.

"And if you think that a futile struggle... then I'm sorry you feel that way." he went on.

"But I'm not going to roll over and die. I've refused to do it all my life, I'm not about to stop until now. Regardless of what we do, if Michael succeeds, existence will end. And then it won't matter what we did in our final moments. I might as well spend them trying to make them NOT our final moments."

To hear this from Emelie was... shocking and heartbreaking. She had given up hope. She'd made it clear. She had resigned herself to this being the end of the world, and it seemed like she wasn't even going to try and fight it. At all.

"No..." he said.

"No, Emelie, the realms are banding together against this." he told her.

"We can't go down without a fight." he said further.

"We can't just roll over and accept such a grim outcome as inevitable."

'...wh... what...?' he thought, stunned to the point of silence for about 3 seconds.

And then it hit him. She had no mana. None. He was told that. Emelie... was blind. Legitimately, completely, 100%... blind. But was that enough to scare her? Or was there more to this.

"Ah... Ash." he then said.

"Ash Fyrane." he told her more fully.

"You know, a friend and loyal soldier of yours. The... former being the most important one."

Ash bit his lip slightly as he swore he heard what he heard.

He then nodded to himself, before slowly approaching her.

"...Emelie?" he addressed her.

"Hey... you... you awake?" he asked.

"It's... uh... it's me." he then said.

He was sure she recognised his voice, but he had NO idea what to say here.

"Hm. Someone might have to go and ask her." Ash said.

He then looked towards the door, and nodded.

"I'll... go check on her." he then said further, slowly making his way towards the door and opening it.

He was almost afraid of what he would see, but he knew he had to.

She was his boss, his superior, his friend.