Chapter 6 - Danse Macabre

The Pull can only be described as a mystery - the force that makes a dragon choose a human child to raise as his or her own. The Pull affects all dragons, even the ones thought of as cold and emotionless - like Metalicana or Acnologia. The Pull is also known as 'The Red String of Fate', in that it is what binds two soulmates. Now, meet Lucina Decadere - a.k.a. Lucy.

*Death's P.O.V, during the attack of the Soul Eater*

I sat on the ornate throne of bones, head resting against the back of throne, eyes closed. As always, information constantly streamed through my mind, views seen from my many selves all over the many realms under my jurisdiction, guiding the souls of the deceased to the Underworld, the realm over which I reigned and protected. With so much information flooding into my mind all at once, I never paid conscious attention, my subconscious filtering notices of deaths soon to occur from everything else, and spawning or directing another one of my selves to reap their soul and escort them to the Underworld.

Then, a particularly persistent, somewhat blaring notice. I focussed on it, letting out a soft 'ah' at the knowledge that the would-be death would be caused by a Soul Eater. I grimaced at the thought of the soul-stealing demons, then spawned another self at the site, seeing as how none of my selves were near the scene of death, and shifted my conscious attention to it.

Seeing the clearing within the forest of gore, a frown pulled at my translucent lips. My gaze travelled to the six year old little dragon girl Lucina who was the Soul Eater's prey, my frown deepening. I drifted closer to her, wondering why I was notified of her death. Other deaths caused by Soul Eaters went unnotified, since the soul would be too busy getting, well, eaten to be reaped. While the Soul Eater - whom I knew to be named Scox - glanced at me, continuing to speak to the dragon under its spell, I simply continued to stare at the slip of a girl, and soon the demon turned its full attention back to its prey, its claws ripping into the girl's side with a gross sound, leaving three gaping wounds on her otherwise markless flesh, black lifeblood spurting out of the jagged rips. The little girl collapses, Scox hovering over her, its gaping maw just over her face, its disgusting tongue caressing her cheek. It brings one of its claw-tipped arms towards her to rip out the soul still stuck within her body, and I turn away, not wanting to see it consume the little girl's soul, when not a second later a horrific-sounding shriek erupts from it. I turn around, raising a brow at the sight of the seven year old male dragon Aegis who bravely, stupidly attacked Scox. Scox tears away from Lucina, and my eyes widen when I realise this was why I had been notified- I still had time to reap her soul while it was distracted.

In a flash, I am next to the small corpse, my eyes seeing not only the physical shell, but the lilac-coloured, gently glowing soul trapped right beneath the skin, just the barest of soul threads keeping it tethered. I swing my scythe, the soul threads disintegrating with a touch of the black blade, and Lucina's soul rises out of her corpse, her eyes opening, revealing them to be a dark, almost black, shade of purple, and Lucina stares at her own corpse, a strong feeling of dysphoria emanating from her. I wordlessly offer her my hand, my bleached-white bones visible under my translucent, cerulean "flesh", and she takes it after a moment's hesitation. Just as Scox returns to her corpse, I pull her quickly to myself, and hide her under the folds of my long, shadowy cloak, protecting her from Scox's grasp. It glares at me with its abyss-like eyes, then turns back to Aegis with a roar and charges. While the young male dragon is soon within its grasp, within mere moments of his capture a figure charges into the clearing, roughly tackling the Soul Eater, after which it flees with a raspy laugh. Picking up Lucina, I gently cradle the far-too-young, innocent soul within my arms, her eyes sliding closed, and I turn my back to the scene as cries of grief begin behind me, and I am back within the Underworld.

While I would normally leave the souls at the shore of the River Styx for three more days post mortem, I immediately bring Lucina over the River, bringing her to my quarters. I lay her down, scowling deeply as the lilac soul shivers when my hands brush against the wound that carried over to her soul. Identical to those on her corpse, three large, jagged rips were present on the soul, bleeding trickles of black to the rest of it, which is barely holding itself together. Quickly, I flash from some other soul to yet another, collecting a few soul threads from the souls that were of the same colour of Lucina's, then appear back next to Lucina, the collected soul threads in a ball in my hand. I bring the threads closer to Lucina's wounds, and they slowly begin slithering over to the jagged rips, weaving themselves into her soul and closing up the gap, and the soul slowly but surely restores itself until it is whole and glowing brightly, and yet, while there was no longer gaping holes where her wounds were, there were still three large, jagged black scars on her soul, causing my scowl to only deepen as I feel anger rise within me. Such a pure, innocent child shouldn't have died at all, much less in such a horrific way.

Worse still, now that I could observe her properly, the all too familiar brand on her soul was glaringly obvious- located between where her collar bones would have been on her physical form, the mark was silvery-white, and was of the kind that marred not one's body, but one's soul for eternity, the brand reaching the very Core of her being. My anger flares at the thought that such a young, new soul barely into its first rendition of life was already anchored to that person, if it even was a person. Even if Lucina chose to reincarnate after serving her sentence, the brand would draw her to that person in every life she might go through, giving her no choice in the matter.

I quickly replace my angry scowl with a less threatening frown of concern when Lucina's eyes open once more.

*Lucina's P.O.V.*

I open my eyes, and I push myself up into a sitting position. My eyes rove around the room I was in; I got a distinct Victorian feel from it, with two black, wooden antique chairs with cerulean padding in the left corner, a skull embroidered in black on the padding of the chair's back; between them a low, small antique circular table made of the same black wood, a thick book placed in the center of the table. Backed up against the upper right corner, right next to the bed I was on, was a large, antique double-door wardrobe made also of the black wood, with intricate carvings of flowers alongs its sides and fanning out when in the corners, however since the doors were closed, I couldn't see what was within. As previously mentioned, next to that wardrobe was the bed I was sitting on; a large, antique four-poster bed, the frame yet again made of the black wood, the bedspread cerulean, the duvet and blankets a darker navy blue, and the inordinate number of pillow in various sizes ranging from black, white and sapphire, roses embroidered on the duvet and pillows, white stark against navy and black, midnight blue standing out from sapphire. Translucent swathes of navy cloth hung from the frame like curtains. Other than a very large black vase of various flower species ranging from different shades of blue in the lower left corner, there were no other pieces of furniture in the room, which had a black floor that seemed to be made of marble, and walls painted midnight blue. Along the left wall, a sliver of a large glass window is visible between the two heavy-looking navy curtains of velvet, though it was too dark out to see anything. With nothing else to look at, my eyes finally landed on the figure sitting next to me on the bed.

He -assuming the figure was a he- made for quite the odd sight, a bleached white, human skeleton visible under translucent "flesh" that really seemed more like solidified cerulean light, the "flesh" giving off a gentle arctic-blue glow. Just barely visible under the hem of his cloak's hood, the tips of a messy blood-red fringe brushed against his nearly non-existent eyebrows, and golden eyes like amber stare out of the skull, the bright, warm colour contrasting starkly with the cool, cerulean skin of his face. Soft-looking lips are pulled into a worried frown, a very slightly darker shade of blue than his skin. He was rather regal-looking, if I thought about it, with high-cheekbones and other features typical of the princes in the human fairy tales I read. As he was sitting down, I couldn't see how tall he was, and due to his long, velvety black hooded cloak covering his body, I couldn't tell what he was wearing. However, I was more than a little wary of the large scythe leaning against one of the bed's posts. It had a very long shaft, made of a material black as pitch, and nearing the top, part of a human skeleton, specifically the ribcage and skull, made of seemingly silver grew out of the shaft, with more silver vertebrae lining the shaft, resembling the spine. Upon the skull is a crown of grey thorns, small, black roses growing amongst the thorns, and emerging from the back of the skull is a wickedly sharp curving blade that ended in a dagger-like point. Viewing the large, glinting black blade sends a shiver through my body, a ghost of a memory at the back of my mind. [A.N. Based off of the Undertaker's scythe in Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler. Carry on!]

"How do you feel, Lucina?" the figure asks gently, in a voice smooth and rich like melted chocolate. I answer sincerely, "I'm feeling pretty okay, I guess. My side is kind of sore though, but other than that I feel fine." I pause, a thick silence filling the air, then I ask, my voice sounding small and weak to my ears, "Umm… If you don't mind me asking… where am I? ...how did I get here? Sir?" His eyes seem to sadden, pain filling his expressive orbs, and he gets off the bed, revealing his towering height; my petite form was miniscule compared to his, and I see that under his cloak he is wearing a crisp white dress shirt, the long sleeves neatly folded up to halfway down his lower arm, revealing skeletal wrists and large, long-fingered hands surrounded by the ethereally glowing blue flesh. He also wore a light grey vest over his dress shirt, with black buttons that gleamed in the low light. His dress shirt was neatly tucked into a pair of long, black dress pants, with black dress shoes polished to shine on his feet. Additionally, instead of a tie, he fastened the collar of his shirt with a black ribbon tied into a simple knot, with a silver clasp or brooch of some sort designed like a skull fastened at the knot, with two small blue sapphires in the eye sockets. He offers his hand to me, and I get a sense of deja-vu that I shrug off before I grab his hand, quickly hopping off the bed. Somehow, I felt different… lighter, in a way. I brush off the thought and follow the man (?) as he left the room, grabbing the scythe beforehand, and traversed a maze of corridors, passing by many shut doors that piqued my curiosity, and I noticed that instead of walking, he was floating about five to six inches above the ground.

When we finally emerge through a large double door, we are on a cliff of sorts. The rock of the cliff was black, with cerulean grass growing on it and spilling over the edge, a daisy-like flower or two rising above the blades of grass, all glowing ethereally and slightly translucent. We are looking out over what seemed to be a large city of sorts nestled within a wide valley, the buildings seemingly carved out of the black stone, and on the left wall of the valley, a wide, glowing cerulean river spills over the edge, creating a majestic and beautiful waterfall, the mist from the waterfall catching the low light in the valley and turning all sorts of colours, creating a beautiful, ethereal albeit strange parody of a rainbow. I could just barely make out a large lake at the bottom of the waterfall, picturesque in the way it stood out from the black stone, and a small, single platform extending over the lake, presumably for a boat to dock at. Overall, despite the darkness of the valley, it had its own kind of beauty, with its spire-like roofs and uniquely shaped buildings.

Still, while the valley's beauty was entrancing, my question hadn't been answered, and I ask again, more firmly this time, "Sir, can you please where this place is and how I got here?" A deafening silence answered me, and I frowned slightly, huffing in impatience, and just as I open my mouth to ask once more, he replies, "You are in the Underworld. As for how you got here… you died. You're a spirit now, Lucina." I felt shock zap through my entire body, and I rip my hand from his grasp, staring blankly at the appendage. Those were still my fingers, and, looking down, I still had my legs. I hugged myself, my hands travelling up and down my shoulders, reassuring myself they were still there. My hands then travelled further upwards, feeling my neck, then my face, just to ensure they were still there. And yet, when I brought my hands within my line of sight again, they were still wholly a shade of purple that reminded me of lilacs, glowing and translucent in a manner much like the man's 'flesh', and I suddenly realise with a jolt that I, like him, was floating. I was dead… I was a spirit… Then, a thought crossed my mind, and my head turned to face him so quickly I probably would've gotten whiplash had I still been alive. I asked softly, "Who… who are you?"

He turns to face my entirely, and replies calmly, "I am Death. Or, as some call me, the Grim Reaper. No matter my moniker, I am the one who severs souls from their bodies at the time of death and escort the soul to the Underworld." Somehow, with everything else going on, the small amount of shock I felt was muted, and I nodded, muttering, "Okay."

Then yet another thought crosses my mind, and I ask, "What is your name? You said that 'Death' and 'Grim Reaper' are just titles that people call you by, right? So what is your name? Do you have one?" Death chuckles warmly, then replies with a hint of melancholy in his tone, "I don't have one. I used to, a long time ago when I was alive, a human, but that was so long ago without using my name I simply forgot it. It's not like the souls here in the Underworld like to socialise with me; they are all intimidated by me, when really, I'm not so different from them." He turns to face the city, then continues, "Just like them, I died and now I'm here. I crossed the River Styx. The difference, though, is that I was the first ever human to die - in this rendition of the universe, at least - and now I'm stuck here to watch over the Underworld and its residents until the end of time."

He sounded so… so utterly lonely that my heart wrenched, and I quickly went over to him and jumped up to wrap my arms around his neck in a hug, causing him to go still as stone. I nuzzled his shoulder, then mutter, "You don't need to feel lonely anymore. I'll stay here with you, okay?" He was silent, then one of his arms hesitantly wrapped around me, and he said in a voice so very melancholy, "No, do not resign yourself to my fate of eternal purgatory. It is my duty to stay here; you, on the other hand, need only stay here for exactly one human year, and you can leave this place." I firmly said otherwise, "No. You've been here for so long without anyone to talk to, so I'll stay here with you because you're now my friend." He lets out a shuddering sigh, sinking to his knees, dropping his scythe with a clatter, and hugging me more tightly with both arms, and I continue, "To symbolise our new friendship, I'm going to give you a name that I can call you by… how about Thanatos? Like the God of Death in human mythology?" He lets out a raspy chuckle, and replies, "That… sounds nice. Thanatos it is." "Okay, Thanatos, now that I'm here, I promise you'll never be lonely again!"

We stayed there, hugging on the cliff over the city for what feels like a long time.

*Thanatos' P.O.V.*

It had been exactly one year since Lucina's death, and my gaining the first friend I'd had for a long time.

The girl really was just a little bundle of kindness and quirkiness, along with many other qualities that made her uniquely herself. Even despite being dead, she'd made it a point to sleep in my bed every day, at around the same time, though she knew damn well she didn't need to sleep. Going through the motions of her everyday life before her death seemed to bring her some comfort, and it wasn't like I used the bed. I didn't blame her for doing so, anyway; like her, and many of the other spirits in the Underworld, I too gained some comfort from reminders of my life before I died, vague as my memories may be. Everything from the blue and black colour scheme of my bedroom (my favourite colours, as far as I can remember), to the many of the pieces of furniture being antiques from the Victorian era (the time period during which I'd been alive), to the copious amount of flowers all over the valley and my decor (if I remembered correctly, I had been a nature mage of some sort, flowers having been a large part of my magic), almost everything throughout my home and many of the things in the valley itself were somehow related to some facet of my life, even if the connection was vague and superficial at best.

Unlike the many spirits in the Underworld desperately clinging to their life before death, Lucina hadn't stagnated and trapped herself in the exact same routines she'd done in life, however. Instead, the little ball of energy spent her time doing all sorts of things, with every day being a new adventure for her, even if that adventure was just curling up in a blanket in one of the plush armchairs in my vast library with one of the many books I had collected over the years, be the book be some fantasy about a grand journey, or just an informational tome about herbs and plants. On these little 'book adventures' of hers, she more often than not ended up falling asleep in the armchair that was far too large for her tiny form, cocooned in the blanket and curled up into herself, the book hugged tight to her chest. The little enigma had even taken a keen interest in learning how to wield a scythe, being fascinated by the one I used daily. For a whole week, the young spirit had followed me around, asking over and over for me to teach her how to use the scythe as a weapon, until I had finally caved and agreed. What I wouldn't tell her was that I hadn't agreed to make her stop pestering me, but because her puppy-dog eyes were impossible to resist for long, though, knowing the sneaky little slip of a girl, she likely already knew.

Some days, she would just follow me around, listening to one of the many stories I knew, and some days she would leave our residence to mingle with the many other spirits in the Underworld. I knew I wasn't the only spirit fond of the little dragon spirit, and sometimes I had to remind myself not to be selfish, when I occasionally felt jealous that she was spending her time with someone else. I hated myself for being so attached to and possessive of her, paranoid despite her repeated assurances that she would never leave me. Having spent so many years, so many centuries all alone, now that I did have someone, I was scared that she would just get bored and leave one day, leaving me all alone. And now that she no longer had to stay in the Underworld, my fear only grew worse.

I shook my head to rid my head of such thoughts, then traversed the labyrinth of doors and hallways to reach my room, the innermost sanctum of the building, and pushed the door open, my eyes immediately being drawn to the small bundle of blankets and little girl on my bed, just barely visible through the curtains of the bed. I silently went to the bedside, then gently shook the spirit who was dead to the world around her, pun unintended. I muffled groan came from the bundle of blankets, which proceeded to roll away from my touch. I rolled my eyes good-naturedly, then used the butt of my scythe to poke the bundle. Another muffled groan, louder and longer this time, accompanied by unintelligible muttering, as the bundle one again rolled away… right off the bed. The groan became a startled shriek as the bundle hit the floor, then grumpy mumbles as Lucina untangled herself from the cocoon she'd made, eventually sitting up and stretching her arms with a yawn. I let a fond smile cross my face, and then the feeling of the weight in my pocket reminded me what I had to do today, pushing the smile right off my face, replacing it with a frown. "You okay, Thanny?" I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind, mentally berating myself for letting my thoughts show on my face in front of the far-too-observant little spirit, then gave a nod and a smile to her by way of a reply. She smiles back widely, like a beacon of sunshine, then scrambles to her feet, bending down to pick up the blankets on the ground. With a swift gesture of my hand, the blankets fly out of her grip, floating over to the bed and laying themselves down neatly, relieving Lucina the duty of making the bed herself.

"I could have done that myself, Thanny," she huffs indignantly, and I simply smile and ruffle her hair, fondly thinking of how, despite being the one to give me the name I wore with pride, she vehemently insisted on calling me anything but that, instead referring to me with the nickname she had shortly come up with. Her indignant expression is replaced with yet another wide smile in a fraction of a second, then she grabs my hand -the one unoccupied by my scythe- and takes off into the maze of corridors with enthusiasm, anticipating the training session I'd promised her. I keep pace with ease, letting thoughts drift off, knowing that she had the maze memorised turn for turn and wouldn't get us lost.

Soon, we are standing in the area we'd designated for training- which was really just a large clearing of sorts with soft grass thick enough to cushion a fall. She lets go of my hand, then continues drifting a bit further until she is about a metre from me, turning to face me expectantly.

As usual, I get into a fighting stance, adjusting to get a more appropriate grip on my scythe. I watch as she follows suit, widening her stance, then furrowing her brow in concentration, drawing on her connection to her element to form a scythe of dark purple, swirling Void energy. With her makeshift scythe in hand, I begin instructing her, demonstrating, and time flies by.

Approximately three hours pass before we take a break. Neither of us had broken a sweat, though in Lucina's case that would be attributed to her being a spirit, as she was quite exhausted from the constant training, whilst I had hardly exerted myself. Despite her fatigue, she still grants me yet another large smile, and she lets her scythe dissolve away, plopping onto the ground with a sigh. I float over to her, then sit next to her on the soft grass. I sigh, then decide it wouldn't make much of a difference if I made the offer now or later.

"Lucina..," I begin, and she rolls onto her side to face me. I bury my emotions under a mask of indifference, and I continue monotonously, "You have finished serving your… sentence. You now have the choice between reincarnation, ascending to the Realm of Spirits, or letting your Avatar, Seraphimaria, decide your fate for you." I struggle to keep my face blank, so that she doesn't see how sad the thought of her leaving makes me, knowing that it would likely be enough to convince her to stay even if she didn't really want to… Lucina really was an angel.

Instead of taking some time to think upon the important decision, the little dragon girl merely tilts her head, eyes narrowed in confusion, then says, "...Thanny, what are you talking about? I already made a promise to stay here with you, didn't I? ...Do you not want me anymore, Thanny?" I feel the sadness radiating off the little purple spirit as she whispers that last question, and I quickly gather the tiny soul into my arms, cradling her gently, a melancholy smile on my face. "No, no, it's nothing like that, Lucina. I had been thinking the opposite, actually; that perhaps you'd gotten bored of me already. I won't fault you for not wanting to stay; I would leave this place if I could." Lucina grips my cloak in her hands, burrowing her face into the dark fabric, and mutters, "I'm going to stay. Don't you worry, Thanny, I made a promise and I plan to keep it. I'm your friend."

Even as a smile begins forming on my face, it is quickly banished by a familiar, monotone and emotionless voice, and the accompanying presence of the voice's owner, as well as its companion, whom I wasn't so familiar with. "That is not your choice to make, Lucina. You're coming with me." I feel Lucina go rigid, her grip on my cloak becoming vice-like as I turn to face the source of the voice; Equilibrium. "What are you doing here, Equilibrium?" I question warily, tightening my grip on the little girl in my arms, my eyes darting to his female companion for a fraction of a second. It didn't matter though; I knew why he was here. "I'm here to collect what's mine, I've already branded her. Her death was untimely, and I've invested too much time and effort in her to simply let her go," he states in that emotionless tone of his. "Then why didn't you… collect her earlier, Equilibrium? Why now?" A sneer forms on what is visible of his face, and he replies, "Unfortunately, even I am unable to bypass the rule I have set into a place; a soul may only leave after their sentence has been served, no earlier." A shadow of a smirk quirks the corner of my lips, amusement filling me that the great, all-powerful Equilibrium was defeated by his own rule, then I force it away when I feel Lucina shake her head furiously, face still pressed against me. "No, no! Mr Libri, I don't want to! I made a promise to Thanny! Un Decadere mantiene sempre una promessa!" I could feel her distress radiating off her in waves, and I gently rub my hands up and down her back in a circular motion.

Finally, Equilibrium's companion speaks. "Lucina, mio carissimo, come along. You can see your father again, you can see Aegis again." Her voice is melodious and clear, but melancholy and solemn. I take another look at her, a proper look rather than a cursory glance. Her face was devoid of any features, save for bright, glowing amethyst eyes, trailing purple light like comets, that contrast strikingly with her dark violet skin. Extending from her head seems to be hair of sorts, a creamy white with lilac tints, long locks that float around her like a wreath. Her thin neck leads to gently sloping shoulders, which lead to delicate-looking arms, then hands and fingers, seemingly solid amethyst light emerging from the base of her middle fingers to wrap around her arms until just below her elbows. More amethyst light emerges from a point exactly between her clavicles to bind around and cover her modest chest, ending at the base of where her rib cage would be. Her waist is a gentle curve that leads to flaring hips, with long streams of amethyst light extending from her waist to form a skirt of sorts that leaves her front bare. Her waist melts into long, slender legs, with yet more streams of amethyst light sprouting from where her ankles would be, wrapping around her legs until her mid-thigh. She speaks again, a pained whisper that interrupts my thoughts, "Please, mio carissimo, don't make this any harder for yourself than it has to be. Come back with me now… You've always put your family first, so if you just please come back… you would be with your family again." Despite the being's lack of facial features, her distress was evident in her tone alone - clearly she was reluctant to force Lucina away.

"No!" Lucina cried out, turning away from me to face the two, face scrunched into a mixture of anger and distress. "No, I won't go! I won't! Papa and Aegis have each other, and everyone else in Ynuungaap… Thanny only has me! No… no matter how much I miss them... I have to stay! I… I have to!" By now, spectral tears were running down her cheeks, a bright glowing white against her lilac cheeks. Equilibrium's face was expressionless as he repeated, "That is not your choice to make, Lucina. You're coming with me." The unsaid "whether you want to or not" was loud and clear. "No…" Lucina mumbled, again and again through her tears, her whole form shaking with the strength of her conviction. Even so… it was clear that Equilibrium was adamant, and besides… someone like Lucina, so full of life, yet whose life was cut so dreadfully short… "...deserves to get a second chance at life…" I murmured, completing the thought aloud.

"...Wha-what? Thanny, no… What are you saying? I promised I would stay here with you…" Lucina turned back to me, incredulous. Shifting her to carry her in one arm, I began running my freed fingers through the soulthreads that consisted her hair, knowing that I probably would be unable to do so for a very long while. "Lucina… in this one year you've spent with me, you've given me more happiness than you know, much more happiness than I've felt in all my other years of being Death, and more than enough memories to sustain my happiness until the unfortunate time you come down here to see me again… So please, don't chain yourself down here, little dragon… Go back to the world of life where you belong, where you can be truly happy with your family." "But Tha-Thanny…" she sniffled, "You're my family too… I couldn't bear to just leave you behind…" I stop brushing through her hair and smile down at her, using my hand to instead reach down for the weight in my pocket, pulling the object out for Lucina to see. She sniffled and blinked as she tried to see what I'd brought out through her tears, rubbing her tears away with her forearm.

"Lucina, this is a weapon I made, just for you. Now, it just looks like an ornate cylinder but, channel your energy through it and imagine your weapon…" As I brought the handle away from her, the lacrima embedded in the centre of the purple rose blazed into life, glowing bright azure as solidified magical energy erupted from the handle's two ends to form the shaft and long, curved blade of a scythe. Lucina's eyes widened in wonder, and with a rueful smile I gave the scythe a fanciful twirl before cutting of my flow of magical energy, reverting the scythe back to the gleaming, black weapon handle with silver trim and silver-filled engraved runes, the lacrima's glow dying away, no longer illuminating the purple metal rose attached to the top of the handle. "This…" I began, as passed the handle to her, and she clutched it to her chest. "...is my gift to you, my dearest Lucina. May it serve to protect you for the rest of your days, and remind you of me." My short speech done, I gently kissed her forehead, then watched with heavy heart as tears once again began flowing from her eyes.

"Thanny… oh, Thanny… I…" Lucina choked out as I hugged her close to me for one last time. "I love you Thanny… I'll never forget you!" She wailed as she used wrapped one arm around my neck to hug me back, the other cradling the weapon handle next to her heart. I shuddered, feeling an overwhelming sense of grief and utter loss fill me, and I mournfully choked out, "And-and I you, Lucina. For the rest of eternity… I'll always, always love you like my own daughter, and remember you as the greatest gift granted to me. Thank you, for everything, my beloved Lucina." I hurriedly unraveled her arm from my neck and put her down on the ground, gently pushing her towards Equilibrium, whose face was as blank as ever. Even his companion, with no facial features other than her eyes, shows more emotion that the dragon god; her large, glowing, pupilless eyes had dulled in both colour and luminosity, betraying her remorse.

Equilibrium quickly grabs Lucina's hand in a vice-like grip, and I feel anger flare in me as she visibly winces. The little spirit turns to me, eyes wide and filled with despair not befitting her young age, and begins, "Thanny, thanks for e-" In a flash of white light, she and Equilibrium are gone, leaving only me and Equilibrium's companion standing in the field.

She's really, truly gone now, and you're all alone again, my mind whispers, and I let out a sob as I fall to my knees. Light blue, glowing tears spring from my eyes unbidden, and I begin to let out a keen of despair, digging the heels of my hands into my eyes to stem the flow to no avail. I hunch over, pressing my face into the glowing grass, and finally, finally let out my grief, letting out wail after mournful wail into the grass as my tears only flow faster, harder, my entire body shuddering with every sob as my despair overwhelms me.

I'm alone.

I'm alone.

I'm alone.

I'm alone, and I always will be, I scream mentally.

In a short break between my cries, the half-forgotten woman speaks, "I… I'm so sorry." I slowly lift my head from the grass, still hunched over, and glared at her blurry form through my tears. "'Sorry' doesn't make up for how alone I'll be! 'Sorry' won't bring her back!" I scream at her hoarsely, yet as I speak, my mind whispers, I don't want her to come back, I want her to go and enjoy her life, I want her to stay, I want her to be with me, I want her to go, I want her to come back, I want-

My heart torn between my wish for Lucina's happiness and my own selfish desires, I let out another sob, then another, and then I begin crying again, mourning the loss of my one friend, my only family. I managed to choke out through my tears, "Just… go… leave me be…" A flash of lavender light in my peripheral view signifies Seraphimaria's departure, and then I am once again well and truly alone.

*Acnologia's P.O.V.*

I jerk awake from my slumber, chest heaving.

No, it couldn't be.

But the empathy link didn't disappear once again like it had last year on that horrible day. It remains, growing stronger and stronger. I begin to tremble as the feeling of Lucina's spirit on the edge of my sense returns, and it feels like she is calling out to me.

No, it's impossible.

I must be dreaming.

And yet, when I pinch myself on the arm, hard, the sharp pain brings me overwhelming joy. Papa, Papa, I'm back, Papa, Lucina's voice resounds in my mind as though in response.

She's alive.

Just as I fling myself off my bed, someone starts hammering on my bedroom door. I fling the door wide open, almost ripping it off its hinges, and one of the castle's servants stands before me, fists still poised to hit the door again. The teenaged-looking dragon girls recollects herself, the metallic scales adorning her skin rippling with apparent excitement as she reports, "Y-your Majesty! Prin-princess Lucina has been spotted by the guards at the western gate! They report that she seems to be making her way towards the castle, my lord!" I nod my thanks to the metal dragon, and push past her in my haste to get to Lucina, and then I pause before making a detour to Aegis' room. I don't bother knocking, slamming his door open, startling the young dragon into consciousness. Ignoring his bewildered, "Wha-?" I pick him up bodily and carry him on my left shoulder in a fireman's carry before leaving the room, half-running to the castle entrance.

"Unghhh… my lord, what in Kyanos' name is going o…" The Blizzard dragon trails off as he stiffens, and it is clear to me why. The scent of Lucina makes its way to our noses, and I break into an uncharacteristic sprint, bursting out of the castle only to unwittingly loosen my grip on Aegis and let him slip off my shoulder onto the ground. A flicker of guilt is overwhelmed by my sheer joy.

Standing before me, in a plain, white lace dress and practically drowning in my old cloak, is my little girl, my old fang necklace around her neck and- something clutched in her hands like it's her lifeline. I want to go to her but my body now seems frozen, and I feel afraid to move, as though doing so will make her disappear, make me lose her all over again. She stares at me with too-solemn, red-rimmed eyes, standing still as stone next to Equilibrium. The moment of stillness is shattered by a broken yet relieved cry of, "Luce!" as Aegis scrambles to his feet and rushes towards his best friend, enveloping her in a tight hug. She doesn't reciprocate, and merely lays her head on his shoulder, tucking her face in the nape of his neck, and soon the two children begin shaking as the scent of salt fills the air. But where Aegis laughs through his joyful tears, Lucina is silent but emanates regret. I let Aegis have his moment before walking over and gently prying him away, kneeling down to bring Lucina into my arms and cradle her to my chest, wiping away her tears and kiss her forehead softly, which only seems to makes her cry harder. As I hold my little Lucina in my arms, heart both filled with joy at her return yet broken at her raw grief, Aegis silently but determinedly squirms his way into the hug and starts murmuring "It'll be okay, Luce," seeking to address a hurt he doesn't know of.

The three of us remain in that position as Lucina starts to keen, a crowd of confused but happy residents of Ynuungaap forming around us as Equilibrium silently departs.

It's obvious that she's hurting, but I know she'll be okay, with Aegis and I to support her.

We'll all be okay, now that she's back, I think to myself, and I hug her and Aegis even tighter.

Hello my dear readers! Since I had this chapter like halfway done, and I had some time to relax, I decided to forgo my gaming to bring this to you guys! Yay!

Next update may be soonish, may take a long time, but will definitely be after early November at the earliest, because UGH O LEVELS. Now is the final stretch with the exams starting in like a week and I~ am~ Dying~~ hahahaha *cries*

ANYWAY

Finally fixed on oversight on my part - Decadere is Italian for Decay, Rot, etc, yet here I was flinging German as the Decadere language like some dumbass. So, to be more accurate, I've changed all (or at least, most - I may have missed a few oops) German words/phrases into their Italian counterparts.

Pray for me to survive my exams! Haha! Ha! I want to die!

ALSO! A note on Equilibrium's pronouns; maybe some of y'all are confused as to why they seem to switch, so here's an explanation.

Acnologia refers to Equilibrium as 'it' because he doesn't know Equilibrium's gender and, quite frankly, fears and doesn't respect Equilibrium, so he uses it to equate Equilibrium to a thing, or a beast. Yikes.

Thanny refers to Equilibrium as 'he', because he view Equilibrium as male. Simple as that.

Lucina refers to Equilibrium as 'he' for now because she has a very limited view of gender - just male and female - and Equilibrium takes on a form that is quite androgynous, but slightly more masculine. As she grows up, she starts to use 'they/them' to refer to Equilibrium since Equilibrium is neither male nor female.

As for Equilibrium, they don't actually give a flying fuck about what pronouns are used to refer to them, since they're literally a god that transcends all definition of gender and can shift to any form as they need. So they prefer "they" for simplicity's sake, but they don't care if someone uses "him"/"her" to refer to them.

That's it for now. Hope y'all enjoyed! Toodles~

Much love sent from the brink of insanity,

~ D. NatKiasu

Translations:

Un Decadere mantiene sempre una promessa!- A Decadere always keeps a promise! [I feel like Decaderes are a proud species very focussed on honour, and keeping promises are a part of that]

mio carissimo- My dearest [Seraphimara is very affectionate with Lucina]