Elise gave a long, searching look, and nodded. "I’ll do my best."
"Constance, get over here!" Luke called, drawing his sword.
The Apostle of Swords picked the white-horned demonkin up, cradling her gently and jogging over to us. It was only a few steps, but he panted as he laid her in Luke’s arms.
"Don’t worry," Luke said softly, picking a strand of hair off her sweat-soaked forehead.
Elise’s golden light filled the room again. The curse around Evla’s soul was thick and foul, hissing as the fate magic penetrated its depths. The demonkin’s soul shivered as the two forces struggled for dominance. She squird in Luke’s arms, whimpering against his chest.
Across the room, the empire’s healer frantically cast spells over the emperor. His soul wavered with exhaustion, spinning multiple high-circle spells at once. When he stopped to gulp a few swallows from the water skin he carried, Elaine laid a comforting hand on his shoulder but didn’t look away from the emperor. The man, the very picture of dignity and power, lay slumped across his Throne, eyes closed and chest fluttering weakly. His skin was sallow, and the lines on his forehead made him seem to have aged a dozen years.
Elise’s magic finally broke through the curse shrouding Evla’s soul. The demonkin twisted with a cry of pain, clinging to Luke’s shirt with both hands. Tears stread down her cheeks as her writhing ceased, and her soul managed to purge the last of the curse.
"Thank you, " she whispered, catching Elise’s wrist as she pulled away.
Elise nodded and gently extricated herself, beginning to cast the spell on Edrin. Unlike Evla, Edrin was a front-line fighter with a more resilient body and soul. When Liberation began burning out the curse, he hardly grunted.
"R’lissea, please, I need you," I said, turning my gaze back to the emperor.
She nodded and rose to join , but Luke moved in front of us, still holding the now unconscious Evla.
"Xiviyah, did you know you would resist that curse?"
"I didn’t even know there would be one," I admitted, biting my lip. "It...ca out of nowhere. The church must have spent a lot of resources to create it."
"And what would have happened if you hadn’t resisted the curse?" he asked.
I hesitated, glancing at R’lissea. She avoided my gaze.
"I...would have died," I whispered. "Even...even if it wasn’t cursed, I don’t know if I would have survived the backlash of the Binding."
His expression hardened. "Then what, exactly, are you planning to do? You’re not actually thinking of offering our help, are you? After what just happened, after what they almost did to you, we have every right to burn their empire to the ground."
"And lose everything we worked for?" I asked. "Luke, listen to yourself. The church wants to drive us apart. It’s why they killed all those people and sabotaged this treaty. It’s why they’re going to... To..."
I broke off, a sob catching in my throat.
"To do what? What did you see?" Luke asked.
"There’s no ti," I said, scrubbing my eyes. "Please, move. We need to save him."
He searched my eyes intently, and for a second, I feared he would reject . Then, his tail lowered, and he sighed, his shoulders slumping.
"How many lines do they have to cross?" he asked softly, "Just how often will you let them sleight you before you’ve had enough? Your rcy, your light...they don’t deserve it. I’m afraid your trust is going to hurt you."
"It already has, rember? I believed in you, and you abandoned alone in a city. I was so cold, and scared, and it was so dark..."
"Xiviyah... I wasn’t...that’s not what I’m..."
"Are you asking to hate you for that? Was I supposed to leave you to this curse just like you abandoned to the shadows of my own realm?"
A shudder ran down his tail, his violet eyes clouded. He didn’t seem aware of anything, not even Evla still clutched his arms.
"Luke," I whispered, and he shivered, eting my gaze. "If I hated you because you hurt , we never would have watched the sunrise."
"I thought you hated it." His tail curled as he spoke, but he raised his head, eting my gaze. His violet eyes were conflicted, reflecting my face back at . I looked so small and vulnerable, so...childlike.
I squeezed the hem of my dress, using every bit of willpower I had not to look away. "I... I was scared," I whispered. "You were so strong..."
His expression fell. "You ran because you were afraid of ?"
I shook my head, tail twitching violently. "I wasn’t scared because of you! I was scared because...because I was happy." I said, then whispered in a very small voice, "And I don’t know how to be happy."
He was quiet for a long, long ti. A flash of golden light to our side announced Elise had finished with Edrin and was now started on Constance. The Imperial healer had given up casting and stared morosely at the emperor.
At last, Luke spoke. "You were...happy?"
I nodded, biting my lip to keep from crying.
"And you...forgive ?"
"I do."
he shook his head, tail limp. "How could you do that? Even if we’ve had good tis together, I’ve hurt you so much..."
"Luke, we stand on the sa path, seeking the sa light. Don’t you think we should walk it together?"
"I’m...nothing like you," he said, averting his eyes. "And if we are on the sa path, we’re on opposite sides, and the shadows of the side I’m on have no room for a precious light like you."
With that, he moved aside, waving to one of the guards. The armored soldier brought him a chair, which he gently set Evla in.
"Luke..." I whispered, a lump in my throat.
For so reason, my heart ached, and a tear slipped down my cheek.
R’lissea took my hand. "You can think later; we have to hurry, right?"
I nodded and allowed her to drag away, staring after Luke. He didn’t look back.
Elaine watched us cautiously as we approached the Throne, sitting on a padded chair beside it. A gleaming black obsidian blade, woven with eighth-level enchantnts, rested in her lap. It was a beautiful work of magic and craftsmanship, but I had no heart to admire it.
"How did you do it?" she demanded. "How did you break the curse?"
"We can help you, but on one condition," I said.
Her eyes narrowed, and I bowed my head, shrinking under the weight of her aura.
"Speak."
I took a shallow breath, grateful for R’lissea at my side. This wasn’t sothing I could ask anyone, most especially a Ninth-level being.
"What would you give to save this empire?" I asked.
She shivered, tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword. "What do you want? No, I don’t suppose it matters. I will pay whatever price you require."
I let out a breath. "Even your life?"
"Especially my life."
I nodded. "Bring him to Elise, and she’ll break the curse."
"Forgive my impudence, Lady Elaine, but are you certain you can trust them with his imperial majesty? They are demons," the healer said.
She pondered his question, fingering her sword. At last, she looked square in the eye.
"I could never trust a demon. But her? She is no demon." She took the emperor by the hand, gently pulling him into her arms. "Co, your Majesty. You’ll feel better in a mont."
As we returned to her side, Elise sat on the ground with her back to the wall, panting heavily. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, damp with sweat.
"Elise, are you alright?" I asked, kneeling beside her.
Her eyelids fluttered as I took her hand, sliding up to reveal her eyes. They were dull and unfocused, staring right through into empty space.
"I...think I need a nap," she murmured, her eyes closing again.
Constance, slumped beside her, weakly raised his head. His seventh-level soul was dim, his aura barely flickering.
"It’s my fault. I was too weak, and the curse got too deep by the ti she started fighting it," he mumbled.
I took Elise’s hand and tilted her chin up with my other, encouraging her to open her eyes again.
"Elise, listen to ," I said, "There’s still one more soul to heal."
She shook her head weakly. "I-I can’t, Xiv... I’m so tired."
I squeezed her hand, turning to look at R’lissea. The life hero shook her head, face grim.
"She isn’t strong enough," R’lissea said softly. "You or I might have to risk casting the spell. I might ss it up and kill him, and you...it wouldn’t be good for your soul."
I glanced back at Elise, biting my lip. "She’s the one that has to do it. No matter what."
R’lissea gasped. "You’re not saying..."
I nodded. "I don’t care if they see it. In fact, please include everyone here. We’re going to need it."
"I hope you know you know what you’re doing," she muttered.
R’lissea took a deep breath and mustered her mana, letting it cycle through her soul as she summoned her staff. She raised the twisted oaken shaft high, allowing the erald glitter with her mana.
"Nexus!"
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