The following story will contain spoilers from Libra of Souls.

Summary: Given another chance to breathe back from the world, a semi-amnesiac warrior named Trine sets off to find the astral fissures and harness its power to survive, and to connect puzzle pieces that answers who she truly is. What lies deep inside her chest was her will to continue living; a song to sing to celebrate her return, and to return to someone she held dear, yet with her state of mind, any traces of his identity was lost within.

The ray of light from the Evil Seed pierced the sky, its glow reaching as far as India. And here we find another person whose fate was entwined with the two swords… - Libra of Souls

Her conscience awakened. Slowly, the chilly air brushed past her. It was so cold, but it didn't make her shiver. The unpleasant scent of rusty iron and steel wafted through her as strange sound emerged from where she was. She tried to speak, but she couldn't feel her jaw moving. That was when she also realized her vision was only filled with darkness.

Wherever she was, the place was constantly rumbling from a quake. She must had lost her vision, or the place she was in was in total blackness, but she knew it wasn't empty. The smell of faint dirt and rust was empowering for an area covered in darkness. She felt like as if she was floating from air…

"Consumed by Evil Seed, yet still the presence of mind… A link between chaos and this world…"

Who was that? Where was he? She tried to find the source of the voice, but she stay glued on where she was. There was nothing that bound her arms, no constriction that coiled her body. No matter how hard she lift her leg to step forward, to swing her arm as she moved, it was like her body was detached from her. There was no sign of movement from her, even if she used her mind to command her body to turn around. She tried her might, but it was like she was part of air.

Fear has reeled inside her, evoking a sense of dread. What if she was just, in fact, an active strain of thought? What if she was indeed binded by the cold, rustic metals that made her skin shiver, but the parts that sent signals to her body were destroyed?

Lost in an empty world, the sound of rumbles and hums, the chilly air that blew past her, and the unpleasant stench of decaying material was the sign she was alive, she was conscious.

"You are quite the interesting one."

The man's voice sounded amuse, but what for? Could he saw her struggles? Or could he read her thoughts? See it even, perhaps?

Was he the one that summoned her here?

Taking a moment to contemplate all of this, she realized she classified herself as a female. Her mind treats her as a woman. Was she a floating soul in an unknown place, waiting for her life to diminish and experience pain one last time? An ignited, weak flame that struggles to keep burning and burning and never ran out of fuel? Or a dying woman on the ground of a deserted area with broken bones and nerves, unable to feel pain and lost her ability to see?

It was pointless to ask where she was. If she was indeed a lost soul who found a way to awakened her conscience, and not a resurrected, disabled woman with no hope to live further, then why did this even happened? Why was her soul awakened?

The male voice spoke again after she was unable to produce any answer for herself.

"Even if you managed to regain your senses, you will eventually succumb to the chaos," He paused, giving her a brief moments to react, "But there is a small glimmer of hope. You must engrave a clear image of yourself onto your soul."

A clear image of herself?

Who… was she?

Even if we're lost, no matter how many times... This dream, this place, I want to return to it

It was what she sang to the silhouette. It was a tall shadow, and yet she was familiar with how the figure looked like. Her hand reached up and traced her dainty fingers on the figure's face. She felt something sturdy before trailing down to a softer surface. This must be the figure's cheek. Blinking, the perspective shifted on a woman, with long, scarlet hair that cascaded down her back and her short bangs obscuring her smooth forehead. Her face was warm and soft, her lips curled in a comforting smile.

Another flash of darkness, and her vision was in another angle. The woman was standing in front of the shadowy figure. Her eyes lingered on the figure's face. She could see her physique, but not the figure covered in darkness. A hint of muscles protrude from her body, and faint scars smeared her exposed skin. The woman was clad in a scarlet outfit while her hand gripped on two blades connected by its hilt.

The figure spoke, but it was gibberish. The tone was deep, bold and masculine, a clear sign of the figure being a man, but there was nothing more to take note of. The woman's response was audible, her voice filled with determination. "When I come back, I'll join you on your missions after proving I'd become stronger."

Her vision was slowly became filled with light. This must be the end of what she was currently experiencing. Were this some traces of memories left inside her mind, if this wasn't a sweet hallucination?

She could see his hand reaching up to cupped hers, the figure's voice above whisper, but this time, his words were clear.

"Promise me you'll come back, Trine."

When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with an extraordinary sight. The rumbles were still the same, and the voice that was talking was nowhere to be found. There were various pieces of buildings that she couldn't make out of, and at the center of it all was a blue, swirling light that consumed any unfortunate object that came near it.

"If you can keep a hold of who you are, you will be able to stave off the chaos."

...That's right.

The vision she saw earlier was in fact real. That was one of her final moments before she ended up here. Whatever ended her life before, it was linked to being exposed to the Evil Seed. Maybe she fought someone and lost her life that way, or maybe something else entirely. But what was important was she had some information about herself.

Her name was Trine. She was on a journey, and promised someone to come back and join them one day. Whatever her journey was, it was to gain more strength. She could sing a song that was dear in her heart, but its title unknown. She thought harder for more traces of memories, but it bear no fruit. This whole ordeal must had locked her memories, and it was up to her to find them one by one.

Given another chance to breathe life, she wouldn't let this opportunity pass. There must be a purpose of her second chance, and she will fulfill it.

"Now arise, take up your weapon, and fight." His voice stirred confidence inside her. She was ready to press on. "Your life depends on it."

A weapon… Trine recalled the blade she held at the time she was talking to a figure. It was a twin ruby blade, big and light enough to be wielded by one hand. It had a hideous appearance, its sinister tinge of red unfitting for her warm scarlet hues that colors her costume. To be able to wield that grotesque blade, she must had been worthy of using it.

The weapon she'd been thinking of floated in front of her in arm's reach. Trine reached up and took it, and with a deep breath, slashed the blade sideward on air. There was a mechanism that could separate the weapon into two, and like glued on her muscle memory, she separated the sword with ease. She spun around and swung her arms, trying to recall her fighting style. Everything was smooth for her, her body moved on its own as she had no problem swinging her weapon. The woman couldn't recall who taught her the skills of handling her dual sabers nor the name of her fighting style, but if that's what how she fought, she would stick with it. She connected the tip of the hilt of the swords, transforming it into one.

A strange noise emerged from her surroundings, stopping her from her tracks. Before she could think any further, everything went white.

Notes:

As this fanfiction novelization will be canon-divergent, the Conduit's personal weapon will be Scharfrichter, one of Groh's equippable weapons. It will be used throughout this story instead of the equippable ones in the game's mechanic.

With that, the Conduit's fighting style will be locked only to Groh's fighting style, the Aval's dual-swordsmanship.

The Conduit's costume will not be the one provided in Libra of Souls. I personally think having a unique outfit will distinguish this with the other created fighters from other people.

And yes, the Conduit I featured here and Groh will end up together.