Sakura rembered sothing from the distant past.
A mory that had been buried under centuries of newer experiences and more recent concerns, a story told by older spirits, but one Sakura had witnessed firsthand.
"Ah, yes... I almost forgot about that incident entirely. You did sothing very similar to this when you were still a young and reckless brat, did you not? Before you learned any kind of control or restraint?" Sakura sighed, shaking her head slowly as the mory fully ford in her mind, her fox ears twitching with the motion.
Titania rembered as well, her violet eyes lighting up with sudden recognition, and she chipped in eagerly, her small voice carrying across the group:
"Yes, now that Sakura ntions it, I rember that clearly! Violette made most of the world uninhabitable for a ti with a blast of the sa magnitude, perhaps even stronger than what we just saw.
"It erased the entire civilization it hit before a single second could complete, wiping it off the map as if it had never existed at all, leaving no trace of its people, its buildings, or its history behind.
"And the force of the explosion went on to form the Great Sea that now sits just beneath Fairylynch, carving out a massive depression in the world that filled with water over ti."
Elara turned her head to look at the horned woman with newfound fear and respect mingled together in her expression.
Her eyes wide and her mouths slightly open, and her steps slowing as she processed the casual way Titania was describing such catastrophic destruction.
Violette scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, clearly embarrassed by the attention and the ancient history being brought up again, her pale cheeks flushing slightly with color:
"Yes, that was a very long ti ago, and I was much less controlled back then, much more impulsive and angry at the world. I promised Lazarus and Irina that I would never use that attack again, no matter what the circumstances or how angry I might beco, and I have kept that promise for thousands of years," Violette explained, as the group continued to walk back toward Verdant Spire.
Their footsteps were slower now, more contemplative, as they processed what had happened.
Violette continued speaking: "I did not even use it when I was fighting Tëhznarā during the last Celestial War, even though I was desperate while she was overwhelming and I thought I might die. It would have wounded her greatly, maybe even defeated her and ended the battle right there, but the cost would have been far too high to justify.
"The attack might have taken half the world as the price for an injury to one being, sacrificing countless innocent lives for the sake of one victory. So I opted out and chose a different strategy instead, even though it ant I nearly died from her counterattack."
Titania shook her head in exasperation, her twin braids swaying with the motion, her small hands on her hips:
"For goodness sake, what is Benjamin even doing out there at the edge of the Wild Island? What kind of trouble has he gotten himself into? He is tearing holes in the sky and terrifying the entire planet..."
They were quietly walking through a forest path, the trees closing in around them as they moved away from the open area where they had witnessed the sky tear.
They were getting closer to the village with each step, when Elara decided to ask the question that had been burning in her mind since Sakura had ntioned the ancient destruction.
She had been turning the words over in her head, trying to find the right way to ask.
"M... Miss Violette, if you do not mind asking..."
"Co on, little Elara! We were being much more casual with each other just a little while ago! You were calling by my na without any honorifics back then, and it felt nice," Violette pouted and poked Elara’s cheek with her finger, her expression playful despite the heavy topic she had just been discussing, her dark eyes sparkling with amusent.
"Okay... Auntie Violette," Elara corrected her address, though it was clear from Violette’s face that this new title was still irritating, just in a different way. Her nose wrinkled slightly. "What happened back then that made you erase an entire civilization with such an existential force of destruction? What could drive soone to do sothing so extre and final?"
"Hm...?" Violette thought for a second, her dark eyes looking up at the sky as if searching for the mory there among the clouds, her brow furrowing slightly.
Then she answered casually, as if discussing idols rather than mass annihilation and the death of millions.
"They pissed off, plain and simple. Humans are naturally greedy and an in my experience, but one of their king did sothing worse than ordinary greed or cruelty. He manipulated Irina and forced her to sleep with him against her will, using his power and his position to trap her.
"When I and Lazarus found out what had happened, Lazarus sealed the entire area around them so that they could not escape, or call for help, or even send a ssage to anyone. So I blasted the whole thing into non-existence with about ten percent of antimatter surfacing in the air above them.
"No one, not even myself, expected it to threaten the continued existence of the whole world, though. That part was a complete accident. A very large, terrifying, and world-shaking accident that I have regretted ever since."
That said, the truth was more complicated than Violette’s simple explanation.
Irina needed a portion of ancient, magic-rich land from that great kingdom for her own strategic purposes, and she also wanted the demigod king’s favor and political support for the Amazon tribe to strengthen their position in the ongoing war.
She was willing to beco his concubine for that piece of ancient land, a sacrifice she had chosen to make willingly for the good of her people, and a decision she had made with open eyes and full consent.
But... Lazarus and Violette misunderstood the entire situation when they discovered Irina in the king’s chambers late one night.
They saw what appeared to be a forced encounter, a struggle, and a violation.
They did not stop to ask questions or verify the facts, or even give Irina a chance to explain herself.
They simply reacted with fury and violence, driven by their love for her and their protective instincts.
Together, they erased the entire area, the kingdom, and also the prize Irina had been aiming for — a prize that would have played a significant role in ending the Celestial War quicker than it eventually ended, saving countless lives in the process and preventing years of suffering.
Legend has it that when Irina finally recovered from the shock of losing her hard-won prize and her carefully negotiated alliance, she was so furious that she forced Lazarus and Violette to raise their hands and hold up entire mountains for an entire decade as punishnt for their rash and destructive actions.
Neither of them ever forgot the lesson, and neither of them ever acted without confirming facts again.
The mountains they held, so say, still bear the indentations of their fingers.
***
Now, let us rewind back so hours ago, before the sky tore open and the world trembled, to the mont when Benjamin and Tensei were in the middle of discussing their identity crisis matters on the beach, and a sea monster interrupted them.
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