Knight of the Void Chapter 16, a Monster Girl Quest + Familiar of Zero Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the properties used in this story.

Chapter XVI: History Lesson

Louise sat on her bed, back straight and arms crossed, her eyes alternating between looking at the clock and the door. Not too long ago, she had just finished supper, and as per her familiar's promise, she waited in her room for him to arrive.

The day had been surprisingly quiet on her end, past morning. The incident at breakfast aside, even Zerbst had stopped bothering her for the day, which ultimately led to no one bothering her at all. By all rights, it should have been a productive day for the pinkette, but the whole time, all she could think about was the upcoming discussion with Alexander.

She was still able to answer any question thrown at her, but all three times, she'd had to be snapped out of her own musings.

It wasn't as though Louise could help it.

Over the day, her mind could do little more than conjure up an image of Alexander's mother; Queen of all Monsters. In some, she would imagine the same manner of demon she had before Kirche had interrupted her: A woman with vermillion skin whose upper body alone was as tall as a dragon, what little shown of her lower body covered in blood stained white scales, her form garbed in the blackest and most wicked battle armor.

The specifics changed every now and then. Sometimes, she would have draconic wings and blade like claws, in others, her body would be wreathed in flames that ebbed and flowed with her rage, and in others still, she would take on the form of something truly inhuman: A cacophony of limbs from a dozen beasts surrounding a horned head.

But perhaps the most frightening of all was the most human image she could imagine. The Monster Lord would sit on her throne, garbed in the finest robes that accentuated her immaculate skin, its tone the purest white. Her silver hair fell elegantly behind her head and down to her back with not a single tress out of place. Her gold irises focused on Louise with unerring steadiness, the Queen's glare so subtle that it was imperceptible. Yet what truly scared Louise most were the ears perched at the side of her head; long, pointed… elfin.

The pinkette couldn't help but shiver in fright as she once more dipped into her fantasy, hoping above all that she wouldn't be put into such a situation when she inevitably had to face the monarch herself.

*knock**knock*

"Come in," Louise responded automatically, all too used to her familiar's mannerism to recognize the loud, brief rapping on the door. School for nobility it may be, few of Louise's peers would ever bother knocking before entering, the teachers would have no reason to visit her, and servants would always be more timid in their approach.

Sure enough, it was Alexander who opened the door, shutting it back with barely a sound and taking the seat at her table. "Before we start venturing into any heavier topic, I have some news," he said as soon as he made himself comfortable.

Despite wanting to just get on with it, Louise nonetheless gestured for his continuation.

"I've managed to strike a deal with Guiche concerning the Familiar Exhibition," he began, eliciting a rise of one of Louise's eyebrows. "A favor for a favor, essentially. In exchange for a favor of equal value to be decided at a later time, Guiche will be providing moving targets for us during the competition."

The petite mage frowned, "Isn't that a bit too vague? That deal sounds like it puts us to a big disadvantage," she pointed out.

"I've made it quite clear that he can't ask for anything that we won't be readily capable of doing for him. It's only fair, given that making and controlling his bronze golems isn't actually difficult for him, as long as there aren't so many." replied Alexander.

Louise pondered the thought for a moment. Guiche was, for all his pompous posturing, a fairly talented mage by regular standards. He was eclipsed by far by the likes of Tabitha and, loathe as she was to admit it, Kirche. Still, he was a Line Class mage at fifteen which, though not rare, was fairly uncommon, and actually one of the better golem users in the academy.

The third son of the Gramont family would definitely try to make this bigger than it really was on his end to get a better deal, but she doubted he'd be able to get much out of it. "That's acceptable then," she decided to say, "Besides, if you can put up a good enough showing, a small favor would hardly be much of a price."

The silver haired prince smirked. "Glad to hear it," he said, nodding as if in approval of his actions.

Then, as if composing himself, Alexander took a deep breath and leaned down, his elbows resting on his knees; hands, steepled under his chin. Louise couldn't help but admire how quickly he was able to change track of his mind like that.

"Onto the matter I'm sure you're more interested in: What do you want to know?"

She didn't need the invitation, but it was good to know she had it.

"You said that your mother was an Echidna. What exactly does that mean?" Louise asked the first thing to come to her mind. It may not have been what she wanted to learn about the most, but at least an adequate description would settle the images she pictured in her head.

"What is an Echidna, you mean?" the prince offered in return and received a nod in reply. A small smile made its way to his face. "That's an easy topic to start with," was his comment as he began to contemplate the best way to explain.

"Well… I don't suppose you know about lamias in this world, do you?"

"They're a race of demi-humans known to make up small groups in the Romalian Mountains and the Rub' Al Kali. They have the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake," recited Louise in answer. "I take it Echidnas are similar?" She added, one of her earlier imaginations coming to the forefront of her mind.

"They wouldn't like it if you said that to them," he said, laughing, "but in many ways, yes, they are. Echidna in general have a similar form, although they're much stronger on average, in pretty much every way; brute strength, magic, lifespan, you name it. In addition, they generally have extra organs usually found in other monsters. In my mother's case, the most obvious would be the plants growing out of her head."

Louise tried to picture it in her head, going back to the frightening image she originally imagined. Gone was the war helm that coiled perfectly around the monarch's horns to protect her head. The curved ram's horns on her head were instead replaced with ones made of blackthorn and blooming with flower and fruit alike.

The new, more ridiculous appearance made the still glaring and serious mental visage much more bearable. It almost made her giggle, if Louise was being truthful.

"Okay then…" Louise trailed off instead, trying to hold in her amusement. "Well… If I recall, you once said that the Fateburns have ruled over Hellgondo since the beginning. Does that mean…?"

"There has never been a Monster Lord who wasn't born a Fateburn, a fact that my sister intends to keep true."

She'd thought as much. It was starting to get quite obvious that for however much Alexander had kept hidden, he really had never lied to her, even once. It was a reassuring thought.

"Alright well… what about your family in particular? Your mother and father, I mean," said Louise, elaborating at the questioning tilt of his head. "You said that your grandmother was an angel, yet you're the son of the current Monster Lord. While I admittedly don't know everything there is to know about the history of your world, if your angels are anything like the ones in the legends and holy texts here, I really don't think a union like that would be very welcomed."

Alexander took the time to think about his answer, a luxury Louise allowed without protest, though it did confuse her as to why he seemed to contemplate the matter for so long. For the next minute, he'd just sat in his chair, thumbing his chin as he mulled over things that the pinkette could only guess at.

It had just about gotten to the point where Louise was beginning to grow impatient when he seemed to come to a decision.

"That's something of a really complicated topic, to be honest," he finally said, a slight frown on his face. "While it might be a bit cliché and overly dramatic to say, I wouldn't exactly be lying if I said that the bit of family history concerning my parents and grandparents practically shaped our world. In fact, both sides of my family have roots that are deeply entrenched in the history of my world."

"And I take it that fully understanding it would mean needing to know all that history?" Louise interrupted, guessing at where he'd been going.

If Alexander minded at all, he didn't show it.

"Not all no. But there would be plenty of major events to go through. It actually goes all the way back to the creation of Angels and Monsters, but not everything in between is relevant. Most of The Great Monster Wars can be skipped in general, though there were some vital points in that era that need to be touched up on. The Reign of Terror by Black Alice is the same, but for the most part, other major battles like the Purge of Safaru and the War of the Seventy-Two Queens and the like don't really have a part in it beyond what started them."

Louise frowned. "Sounds like a pretty bloody history from just that," she pointed out, a point which Alexander gave a somehow equal parts sheepish and sorrowful smile at. "Well... it isn't as though Halkegenia hasn't had its own share of wars fought. Nothing more to it then; just start at the beginning, I guess."

Easier said than done, clearly, given Alexander took the time to think on his words again. Still, the prince began without hesitation once he'd straightened out his thoughts.

"In the beginning," he started, in a somewhat dramatic voice that had Louise rolling her eyes, "There were two energies that flowed all throughout the universe; complete opposites, yet incapable of existing without one another: The Light and the Darkness."

-X-

Light and Darkness. Long before any language came to be able to label them, these two concepts were all that existed in the mortal world. The two would dance around each other constantly, ebbing and flowing, unknowingly emulating the seas that would one day come to be.

One could not exist without the other, yet neither could exist with each other; not as they were, raw and powerful and selfish for all that there was nothing to be selfish about. In such a way, one could claim them to be sisters. Both born to the primordial chaos by the will of an unfathomable being, constantly bickering and unwilling to share, yet would fall to pieces as soon as the other was gone for good.

It was inevitable, really, that such powers would develop a consciousness of their own.

[Hello?] There were no true words spoken, no language that emitted from within the Light. It was intent, pure and simple and sent towards any who would listen. A cry for companionship despite not even knowing of the concept. An instinctual desire, voiced without a voice.

From this, the Darkness also felt something. A sense of longing that it, too, wanted to fill. And so it tried to respond. And yet…

[!] Pain was a foreign concept to the two primordial beings. In truth, such a thing should not even exist for them. But their very nature as opposing forces made it so. In their purest forms, any such kind of communication was the most damaging thing they could possibly do to each other.

It was sad, then, that neither knew this.

[Why?] Pain. Emotional and physical, if it could even be called that, though such was beside the point. The pain was very much real, and the Darkness wished only to know the reason for the attack on its being.

In a similar way, the Light also sensed the Darkness' inquiry, felt the distress and desperation from it. And so the Light tried to respond in reassurance. [Hurt! Pain!] It was not immune to the same backlash, however, and so suffered similar, never really learning the full reason for the other's attack on it.

Yet still, despite the pain, the two did not give up. They had no sense of reason to do so yet, new to sentience and sapience as they were. On and on, they continued to try and speak to the other. But it was for naught. All one ever gave to her sister was pain, over and over and over again until neither could stand it any longer.

They chose, almost simultaneously, that to try and speak to the other was a waste of time; that all the other wished to do was hurt them. The only other being whom they could go to for companionship had not only rejected them, but drove them away in the most painful way possible.

From there came the first true sorrow of existence, and from this sorrow came the first drops of anger. From anger was born the first flecks of hatred.

It started small. Little more than a desire to not be in the other's presence; a result that would be repeated after thousands of thousands of fights between siblings of all kinds as time would eventually show. Yet this one would not be repaired by any reconciliation. Instead, it festered in the two of them, even as they watched the worlds form around them, as yet unknowing of what purpose the events could possibly serve.

And then...

… Life.

They began small. So infinitely small, especially in comparison to the sisters' unending vastness. But neither sister cared. Tiny though they were, Light and Darkness could feel consciousness in them. Barely there, and so simplistic that it was nigh incomprehensible, but still there. The potential for something more was still there. They could feel it so deep within themselves that it could not have been anything beyond fact.

And so they reached out to the primitive creatures, giving it their all and hoping against all hope that they would be heard. That the creatures would respond.

They did not. They could not. It soon became obvious to both. These things… they were simply far too simple to truly understand the vastness of their existence; the complexity of their being.

Yet still, the hope that their existence created in the sisters' beings was a powerful thing. Where before, they were content to merely continue existing and only longed for companionship, now they desired for the future. They saw how these things grew and changed and became more and more complex as time passed. With each change, their hope, driven by desire to finally have another who could be with them, who could fill the Void within their beings.

Such was the strength of existence's first rays of hope.

It was this hope that drove them to act once more, to once again take a more active role in fulfilling their one desire. It was apparent that the greater the gap between them and the world's Life that they would have to wait for longer still to finally be heard. This, they endeavored to change, the desire to be with one who could listen to them and speak with them, so far greater than even their desire to retain all their power.

Though neither knew how, they willed themselves to be diminished. Eons upon eons passed, with the sisters holding only this goal in mind. Such that it was that eventually, their wish came true. From the Light and the Darkness, the spirits of the sisters were cleaved, allowing them to take shape in the world.

In their own right, both could be called beings of pure beauty.

The Child of the Light, with her twenty six wings upon her back, halos of holy energy floating atop her light golden hair that framed a delicate, pale face with sky blue eyes. Her body would give the perfect image of a young mother, clad in a resplendent robe of the purest white. None remembered when she had chosen such, but the Child of Light had taken a name: Ilias.

The Child of the Darkness, with her silver locks and crimson eyes set upon an alluring, dusky visage, and atop her head, a pair of horns sat, the same color as her hair. Her figure was sensual, in contrast to her sister, and garbed in deep blacks and violets. None remembered when she had chosen such, but the Child of Darkness had taken a name: Alice.

These two sisters, whom despite their differences, wished for only the same had, for the first time since eternity past, been able to see themselves, and both marveled at their own beauty.

But they were yet to be sated. They could now interact with the world, true. Yet still, neither could find companionship amongst those that lived on it; never again trying to seek from the other whom they saw as one who only harmed them.

They desired to diminish themselves even more, to be able to become closer still with the beings upon their world.

And these sisters, who had done naught but desire for the same thing, all through their existence, for the first time… differed.

The Child of Light chose to divide her attention. Her beauty was truly magnificent, after all. It should only be right that her companions be as close to her as they can. And so she molded the creatures living upon her world, slowly but surely pushing them to become like her, even as she strived to meet them half way.

The Child of Darkness cared not for such a thing. Though awed by her own beauty, her hunger for companionship drove her only to pursue a more earthly form. She wandered the word, immersing herself in nature.

-X-

Time passed.

Ilias, in her shaping of humanity, had noticed the changes first. She had seen how her once radiant beauty began to slip. Her once shining hair had lost its luster, her pure white robes began to yellow, and her once great wings began to shrink.

The Child of Light had been struck by fear and panic. She had then sought to view her sister; to see what had become of her and became even more fearful.

The Child of Darkness, who even Ilias admitted was the only one to match the Light's beauty, had lost it in the winged woman's eyes. Alice had begun to take on features of the more primitive creatures. Her shapely legs had been replaced by the body of a serpent's that she so loved. Her horns, which had once seemed like a crown to match Ilias' halo was strewn with foliage and flowers of her favorite plants. Her skin, which once was alluring, had turned to the color of her now non-existent robes.

To Ilias, her sister's body had grown grotesque. And with the changes that she herself had begun to exhibit, the Child of Light grew worried. She didn't want to lose her beauty, the first thing that was truly hers.

It was because of this that she stopped trying to make herself like the creatures of the world, putting her all in shaping the world into her image.

-X-

Alice saw things much more differently. Though it took her time to notice the changes, the Child of Darkness was not alarmed by them in the least. If anything, she embraced her transformation.

Though her body had changed, Alice's power remained the same. That the Darkness was still hers to command was enough for her. And she had learned as well, so much more than anything she would have had she deigned to stay above the creatures of the mortal plane.

The most important among these was, perhaps, the relationship between parent and children.

Where once, she only knew that bearing of a child as an almost negligible step in towards finally meeting ones who would fill the ever present Void in her heart, now she knew them as one of the best possible companions one could have. They were beings one could not only be with, but also be proud of and feel joy for.

Alice, in time, found herself wanting her own children. Those just like her, who were in tune with the nature of the world, and the Darkness that surrounded it.

-X-

Even more time passed.

Humanity had begun to walk the earth. Ilias felt pride in her work; in these creatures who, though still imperfect, was as close to her beauty as she could make them. True, they still had trouble understanding her, but she had achieved her goal already: the creation of creatures who could be compared to her magnificence.

Though she scarcely appeared before them, they nonetheless saw her as a goddess, as their creator. And rightfully so. After all, was it not her, who spent eons to shape them into who they were now? None of them could ever match her in any way, shape or form, nor would any be able to live as long as her. But that also meant that none would ever be greater than her. None would take the adoration that was rightfully hers, as the reason these humans even existed.

For the first time since time itself began, Ilias felt happiness.

-X-

Alice had finally done it. It had taken thousands of years, but she'd done it. And to think, all she needed was one of the males from the humans that the Light had formed. The young man had gotten lost from his tribe and found himself in Alice's forest. He had been afraid, at first, but she had comforted him; showed him kindness even.

The Child of Darkness had recognized his worth, after all. In all her time, the animals and plants that she'd seen producing their offspring always did so only with those who were like them. It was obvious, really, that she needed one who was like her. A male, who was like her. Yet none existed. Certainly, it was possible for her to just reshape already existing animals to be more like her and become her children but… it just wouldn't be the same; not without a more natural child of her own first, at the least.

And so she'd seduced the man, searching his memories for the courtship rituals of his own kind and emulating them as best she could until he chose to lie with her despite their differences. Sure enough, Alice had become pregnant from the act.

So great was her rapture that she rewarded the man with more pleasure than he could ever endure. It had led to his death, certainly, but she'd gotten what she wanted, and he'd clearly died happy. All was well, as far as Alice was concerned.

Her elation only rose when her daughter had finally been born. The child was so much like her in every way. Practically a perfect copy, if Alice had ever been a child herself, she wagered. The only real difference was her child's golden eyes; the same eyes as her father's.

Tears streamed from Alice's eyes as she watched her daughter slumber, the little girl nestled gently in her arms.

With this, she could finally create more like her.

With this, for the first time since time began, Alice felt happiness.

-X-

As Alexander paused to catch his breath, Louise took the time to look down at everything she'd written down. At some point, a maid had come up with some tea that Alexander had apparently requested, which he took to taking a drink of now. At about the same time, the pinkette had decided to get one of the spare notebooks she took to keeping around. She'd have to hide it if any devout follower of the Brimiric Faith ever visited, but considering how intriguing her partner's story telling was, and just how important it might be down the line, Louise found it to be a risk worth taking.

"I take it that that's how the Monsters were created?" she asked the most pertinent question to come to mind. It was similar enough to the story of creation of the Brimiric Faith to be his own people's version, certainly.

Bringing the cup of tea away from his lips, Alexander nodded in confirmation. "Alicefeeze Fateburn I, as she became known later, created the first monsters, The Six Ancestors, after her blood daughter was born. The Six Ancestors, in turn, founded all the other Monster races."

An errant memory found its way to the forefront of Louise's mind at his wording. "Wait, so was she the one you called 'Founder' your first night here?" she asked, thinking back on Alexander's outburst when he first woke up after the Springtime Summoning Ritual. "Thinking back, it was strange that you would swear by Founder Brimir, since you're from a different world."

The silver haired teen quirked a brow at that, trying to recall that night. He did vaguely remember being angry enough to do something like that at the time. "I don't quite remember, but if I did swear by a Founder, I would've been talking about Alicefeeze I, yes," he replied. "It's one of her more common epitaphs, along with 'Great Mother', 'Dark God Alicefeeze', 'Jashin' if you're from the eastern Noah region and, most commonly, 'The First' or just 'First', among others."

"That one in the middle is… pretty ominous. But given the circumstance, I suppose it makes sense."

Shaking off her own internal observation, Louise moved on to something else of interest. "So I guess that would mean that you're of sacred bloodline amongst Monsters then?" she hypothesized.

"In the more religious circles, yes," he admitted sheepishly, to the pinkette's surprise.

"I didn't take you for someone who would be embarrassed by that," commented Louise, not quite able to hide her astonishment. "I mean, so far, every time you talked about your family, you always seemed to be so proud of them. I would have thought that this was a point of pride for you as well."

The prince's sheepish grin grew wider if possible, scratching his cheek with a finger as he chuckled. "That's because I am proud of my bloodline, but… well…" he trailed off, his expression turning ponderous, "Well, look at it this way: If you were a Void Mage-" he held his hand up, preemptively stopping Louise's coming protest, "-if, hypothetically, you are a Void Mage-" he amended, "-and the entire country knew it, how do you suppose you'd feel around people like priests and other hardcore followers of Brimir?"

Louise almost raised another protest to deny such a possibility on reflex, but stopped herself before uttering a single line. Her mouth closed with a click as she actually put some thought into it. Assuming the church wouldn't just hunt her down and hang her for heresy, that is.

If nothing else, no one would ever make fun of her anymore, and she'd definitely be a point of pride for her family. But at the same time, if she ever met with the more devout members of society…

"I…" the pinkette began unsurely, "I… suppose I'd be happy about being a Void Mage…"

"But…" urged Alexander, rolling his hands imploringly.

Louise opened her mouth to reply, stopped midway… and sighed. "But…" she gave in reluctantly, "if a lot of people started following me around treating me like I was the second coming of Brimir, I would probably go around with a disguise most of the time. If nothing else, it wouldn't be something I would want to advertise."

Alexander smirked victoriously, earning a grumbling pout from the pinkette. Without even thinking about it, she'd thrown one of her pillows at him just to wipe it off his face. He manage to catch it, of course, but the act still managed to put a bigger smile on his face.

"Woah now. No need to get violent Louise," he admonished playfully, laughing as he tossed the pillow over her head. Louise wasn't in any danger of being hit by it, but she trailed its path either way, watching it land just behind her, on other side of the bed and perfectly parallel to it, just below the windowsill.

She turned back to look at him questioningly. Alexander just shrugged, a look of –this time, obviously faked– sheepishness. The pinkette could only roll her eyes at his casual attitude towards what could arguably be called a perfect throw.

Still Louise wasn't one to waste an opportunity. The petite mage pushed herself backwards along her bed, grabbing the other pillow at the head of the bed stacked it on top of the first before plopping down herself, using the puffy cushions as a backrest. The notebook –kept held in her other hand– was rested on her propped up knees.

She barely needed to raise her hand before her wand landed on it, tossed by her familiar. Louise couldn't help but smile in pride at the fact that she hadn't fumbled it this time. With a light flick, her ink bottle floated off the bedside desk and towards her, slowly but steady. It might not have been true levitation, being too slow and only able to lift a single, small object at a time. Rather, a mere cantrip that everyone –even commoners, though they were generally unaware of it– could use. Still, Louise would be lying if she said it wasn't useful.

After gently placing the ink bottle beside her, the quill came next, and soon enough, she was ready to take notes again. Her expectant look was met with Alexander finishing his cup of tea and relaxing himself back in his chair.

"I suppose it's about time I continued my little tale then, wouldn't you say?"

-X-

Once her daughter was born, Alice I began to experiment with her powers in earnest, infusing her Darkness into select vessels. The possibility of doing such a thing was not new to her. Just as the energies of the natural world had pervaded and changed her, so too had the Darkness which emanated from her seeped out into the world, changing it ever so subtly.

What the Founder of Monsters chose to do was little more than to seek the logical conclusion of such an event.

The first to receive her blessing –for a lack of better term– was an example of her favorite animal: a snake. As her Darkness flowed into it, Alice watched the animal change into something more and more akin to herself, until the first of her creations was completed.

Her name was Saja, progenitor of the Harpies and Lamias.

For the second, Alice looked to take the many and make into one. She scoured land and sea alike to find those which held her interest until, finally, she had chosen three creatures: a leech, an octopus and a crab. Taking the three, she began to mold them together as the Darkness pervaded their beings.

Hiruko was born from this union, the first of the Scylla, and through them, the Mermaids and Insect Monsters.

For the third, Alice had looked to something less mobile, turning her eyes towards plant life. The decision, however, was taken from her before she could make it. It had been an ordinary day, for the most part, with her three daughters playing amongst themselves, when her eldest had come to her. Alice II had begun to take care of a pet fox, as the Founder had learned; one who'd been gravely injured.

Not wanting to see her daughter in tears, the Child of Darkness wove the only magic she could think of to give the beast a chance at life. And so it was that her third creation, Tamamo, was born; mother of all Beast Monsters.

It was from the plants who were most like animals that Alice chose to form her fourth creation from, erring on the side of caution. She took those which would devour insects and smaller animals just as much as light for their sustenance, fusing them with one of the flowers from her own horn.

The resulting Monster was named, Kanon; the first of the Plant Monsters.

Feeling that she'd reached a peak in complex life, Alice found herself in a state of ennui. She had a large family now; five daughters who talked with her, ate with her and laughed with her. Yet she felt as though she'd yet to truly test the limits of her powers.

She scoured her mind for any direction she'd yet to take. A single animal had not been an issue, even done twice over. Multiple animals had been no hassle at all. Multiple plants, even when combined with something which was most certainly not a plant, had been easy. What else was there?

She would contemplate that question for months to come, before a memory trickled into her mind: the moment, she knew, was from when she'd first experienced hope, many lifetimes ago. The beginning of life upon the world she chose to live on. The most simplistic of living beings which, even now, continued to thrive.

Emboldened by the thought of elevating something so little into one just like her children, Alice had set herself to work.

Having left the ability to do so behind when she'd gained physical form, the Founder could no longer see such simplistic beings with her naked eyes. Though it was not impossible to infuse her Darkness into something she couldn't see, doing so enough to make another daughter was close enough.

Still, this did not stifle her drive. She tried and tried and tried again, throwing Darkness every which way in an attempt to mutate something enough that she'd be able to feel it; to create a beacon. All ended in failure after failure.

It was not until she'd taken to watching the seas after another such attempt that Alice had seen a solution. For on the coasts of the western oceans, there existed one of these primordial lifeforms which she could actually see.

She had been laughing in joy the whole time, as her fifth creation came to be, the Darkness compacting into the miniscule entity until it began to gather the water around it to form its own body. She was like nothing Alice had ever seen before. Her body had no true organs, merely a core that contained all that she was, contained in a body that was both liquid and not.

She was named Kanade, and for some time after her birth, Alice had thought that she was finally done. She no longer felt lonely, and there was nothing more she could test her power against. Even the mightiest worldly creatures, the dragons, could do little against her might; what more if she were to turn one into one of her own?

Certainly, turning dragons into monsters would demonstrate the vastness of her power in full, but what for? Alice was power incarnate. She didn't need to give a show of force when her mere existence exhibited her power on its own.

And yet, the fragment of some idea, of something missing, kept scratching at the back of her head. There was still something she hadn't been able to try yet. The question was: what?

It took nearly a decade for the answer to come to her. Enough time, in fact, that Alice had all but given up, constantly pushing that nagging feeling to the back of her mind so that she could enjoy her time with her family. And enjoy it she did, as she taught her daughters all she'd come to learn about the world.

Then, one day, the Great Mother found a human girl, lost and dying in the woods she called home, all the way on the northernmost land of the world.

The human was younger than even her youngest daughter, and was lying in a pool of her own blood, surrounded by wolves and already missing parts of her body. Her eyes were completely devoid of all hope, such that she no longer bothered shouting for help, and so spent of tears that she could no longer cry as her death became all but an inevitability.

It was a sight that was curious enough to garner Alice's attention.

With a burst of her power, the wolves scattered to the darkness of the trees, leaving the girl free to turn towards her savior.

There was fear in her eyes, when first she'd laid them on the Child of Darkness. But in the face of all that had happened to her, it was clouded entirely by the joy that someone had saved her. The light in those eyes only served to pique Alice's curiosity even further.

Her name was Nagi.

She'd been a member of a tribe from the eastern lands who'd been attacked by citizens of the city of Babylon, which lied just south of the Great Mother's woods. All their men had been killed in the attack, and the women and children taken to back as slaves, be they for labor, pleasure, or both.

Nagi had barely escaped them, her mother sacrificing herself so that she might have a chance to get away. She'd been running since, for three days and two nights, pushing herself to the brink to just be one step ahead. In the end, it had taken her wandering into what her captors had called the Forest of Hell before they'd given up the chase. Unfortunately, that was right about the time that the wolves had caught on to the obviously weakened girl.

To the girl's surprise, her words had actually struck a chord in Alice's heart. Unlikely as it was to happen, if Alice had been in a situation where one of her daughters was in danger of pain and abuse, she too would readily sacrifice her life for them. That the sacrifice of this girl's mother would be in vain was something she felt she couldn't allow to happen.

But then, what could she do to save her? Nagi was already at the point where she held onto life through sheer willpower alone. Even if the wolves had stopped tearing into her when they did, Alice was certain that Nagi would still already be dead by now, if she knew they would still eat her in the end. No amount of healing would save the girl.

…

She was just like Tamamo, really.

That thought was all that Alice needed to make her decision.

As Nagi's life began to fade from her eyes, her whole being was engulfed in Darkness, the primordial energy coursing through every fiber of her being and every inch of her soul. With that, Alice knew that the girl would live, just as Tamamo had. She too, would become a Monster, just as her last five daughters had been.

Except, this time, it wasn't like the rest. This time, there was something anchored in the very core of the girl's soul which lashed out at the Darkness. The mere touch of it brought fort even more memories of Alice's time before she was Alice; of that first time she'd ever tried to reach out to another, and was rejected.

The Light was strong in Nagi, stronger than any she'd ever felt since before she truly lived. It fought against her Darkness, pushing it back and attacking her very soul through the channel. It was like nothing Alice had ever had to deal with before. A battle between the cores of two souls. It was new. It was terrifying.

It made her grin in hunger.

This was what she'd been looking for. Surely, something like this, a battle that went back as far as the first time she was aware, would be worthy of being called her final work. One last experiment. She pushed her Darkness further and further into Nagi, encroaching upon the light with every passing second, throwing away any attempt at forming the new Monster in place of just pushing against the Light.

The night would pass, before the battle would end. But when it did, the young girl who had been torn to shreds by wolves looking for a meal was gone. Nagi was no more.

In her place was Minagi, origin of the Succubae, and through that single race, a hundred more.

And with her rebirth, Alice finally felt content.

-X-

Ilias too, was content with her work. She had been for a long time.

Humanity, by far the pinnacle of all her works, were coming along nicely. They heeded her every word and clung to her orders with unquestioning faith. Scattered as they were, their belief in Ilias connected all of them throughout the world.

They communed with her regularly, singing her praises as she looked down at them from her own realm. Her visits to the settlements always had to be done slowly, so as to give the people time to prepare, but as much as she disliked the wait, the feasts and festivities that would greet her was worth it.

Still, such occasions were rare. In a single seasonal cycle, she would perhaps descend three or four times, if the people were lucky, and always just to warn them of impending natural disasters. It wouldn't do for nature to try and ruin all the work she'd put into them, after all. Besides, the humans killed enough of each other as it was.

Not that Ilias really minded, of course. Certainly, she was saddened that so many of her creations would perish long before their time, but even she, who went against the natural order of the world to create humanity, could agree to certain rules of nature. Survival of the fittest was one such rule among them.

The humans on the world fought with each other regularly, sometimes as individuals and others in groups. Often, it ended with one side dead. That was just the way of things, really. If they could survive, then surely, it meant they could do more than those they conquered, after all.

The growth of civilizations only served to confirm this. Those tribes who would conquer flourished, learning more and more things until they stopped living in caves and started pitching tents. And then, from there, they began to use wood and straw. They learned to master plants and animals, cultivating and breeding them much in the same way that Ilias had guided the growth of humanity. The mere thought of such an achievement had Ilias shrieking in delight.

Yes, this fighting was fine. The humans fought each other over disputes for land, food, even culture and knowledge. In fact, there was only one thing they never fought over: Ilias, and her reign over all of them. Such a concept was ingrained into their very beings since the dawn of their creation. The humans might love their spouse, their children, or the rest of their kin, but none of that love would ever supplant the love they had for her.

It was all Ilias had ever hoped for. Her children, loving her above all else.

…

And then, one of them didn't.

It was such a small thing, at the time. Ilias had felt that one of her children had put someone else in her place within their heart. Just one, and it annoyed her to no end. So she'd peaked upon the man who had dared do such a thing. What person could possibly ever equal her? She wondered.

As she gazed through his eyes, Ilias found her answer.

Anger pulsed through Ilias as soon as she saw the form of her sister through that man's eyes; the two of them lying together as mates. Storms shook the oceans ceaselessly for a week after seeing it. Ilias wanted to hurt the two of them so badly… but she stayed her hand.

It was only one man after all. Millions more loved her before any other. And really, if there was one who should've been able to wrench her place in their hearts, then at least it was her only equal, as much as Ilias disliked her sister.

Still, it couldn't hurt to watch them, every now and again.

Over the years, she'd done just that. The man, as it turned out, was of little consequence. He'd perished shortly after Alice had been with child. Still, for the years hence, Ilias could only watch with no small amount of envy as Alice accomplished in seconds what she had worked so hard to do over hundreds of millenniums. Still, the price her sister had to pay for such a thing mollified the goddess well enough.

The closeness between Alice and her children was another rankled at Ilias's nerves. It was only because they were so few in number that she decided not to do anything about it. What were six children caring for her sister as their mother to her millions worshipping her as a goddess?

Ilias had raised humanity from the mud that their ancestors resided in, molding them into perfection until they possessed knowledge enough that even she could consider them intelligent. What were her sister's 'daughter' compared to her accomplishments?

Nothing, that's what.

Alice's accomplishments was so insignificant compared to hers that Ilias had even stopped monitoring her after it became apparent that her sister would no longer be making any more 'daughters'. Ilias would be the one to shine eternally in the end.

It wasn't like her sister could just erase all her hard work, after all.

…

The first sting of Darkness was what had hurt her most of all.

It brought back memories from so long ago, long enough that even Ilias could not properly recall when. But she could recall the sting of the Darkness clawing at her Light. She'd panicked at the feeling of it all, her eyes widening in fear as she instinctually willed the Light to strike back. But it wasn't at all effective, and her mind could do nothing but wrack itself bare for a reason why.

It still took a long time, not at all helped by the continuous nature of the onslaught, but eventually, she'd realized that it wasn't a direct attack. In fact, it was quite far into her periphery, one of the motes of her Light which lay in the soul of all her children. That was why she couldn't quite fight against it.

Realizing that, Ilias put her all into finding where, exactly, the Darkness had begun to strike at her Light.

She was already too late when she got there.

Beyond the veil of rising Darkness, a curtain of energy she just couldn't get passed, she could do nothing but watch as the Light was completely subsumed by the Darkness in one of her children. Her hands trembled as the new being rose from the beyond the black, an absolute perversion of everything she'd worked to achieve.

In her sorrow, all Ilias could do was flee from it all before her former child or her sister could notice her.

One thing was certain though: More than her sister, more than her other children, or their children in turn, Ilias despised that thing that made a mockery of her finest creation.

-X-

Decades passed, and Ilias found more and more reason to hate her sister and her children. As soon as they'd been allowed to leave their own little nook of the world without Alice I watching over them, all hell had broken loose.

Ilias kept trying to save her precious children from the chaos that her sister's wrought, but try as she might, she just couldn't succeed. There was always one of them doing something or other on two different sides of the world, and Ilias just couldn't handle all of it.

Alice II, the Child of Darkness' greatest source of pride was of little consequence. All she did was travel the world, learning about it in the same way her mother had all those years ago. But Ilias was already well aware of where such an action would lead to.

Saja, would worm her way into a man's heart, raising a family with him, only to rampage when he finally perished, only to find another man with which to repeat the cycle. She grew more and more paranoid with each new husband, lashing out more and more violently at any she perceived as a threat to their love. For this, she became known as the Monster of Envy.

Hiruko was indolent, taking to the far seas and mostly staying in her self-made palace. Were it not for her dragging boats and ships to the depths, Ilias might've just ignored the mishmashed Monster. Instead, because of her own laziness, she made a habit manipulating the currents to bring food and entertainment to her, leading to disaster after disaster. Her sluggishness was such that Ilias had spread her name as the Monster of Sloth.

Tamamo was another thing altogether. Rather than violence, she had ingratiated herself into one of the largest powers in the eastern lands as an advisor to the king. The fox lived a life of luxury while continuously manipulating the kingdom for her own ends, even as she turned more and more beasts into Monsters like her, shaping the land to her whims. By the end of it all, Ilias had had to quarantine the area, making more visitations to the world than ever, just to warn of the kingdom taken over by the Monster of Greed.

Kanon had, paradoxically enough, been the easiest to and hardest to rout. At some point after she had left her mother's watchful eyes, the humanoid plant began attacking villages and towns, always taking the time to devour as many civilians as possible. As torturous as it was for Ilias to know of her children's fate, the process made her sloppy, and often meant that many would escape to warn others of the sadistic demon. The anger with which she attacked so many settlements had quickly earned her the name of the Monster of Wrath.

Kanade was similarly problematic for her immediately older sister. She would start slow every time, spreading parts of herself into a settlement's water supply and slowly sapping them of strength. Then, once she was certain that none of the guards could put up a fight, the slime would spread herself across the entire village or town, or sometimes even cities, crafting her own little kingdom as she slowly devours everything in sight before moving on to victimize some other civilization. It is from this excessive feeding frenzy that she became known as the Monster of Gluttony.

But the worst of all, and of this, Ilias felt she should have expected, was the last of her sister's wretched creations.

Minagi was a true anomaly. Born in the Light yet reborn in the Darkness. A young girl who was traumatized by the thought that she would only live to be a source of pleasure for men… and who had sought to revisit the same thing to them in turn as revenge.

Were it not for her, Ilias might have been able to tolerate a slow war against her sister and 'nieces'. But no. Minagi had corrupted even her own sisters. Whereas they would have only been driven to acts of pleasure from the inherent instinct in them to produce offspring, Minagi had taught her sisters to pursue pleasure for pleasure's sake. She'd taught them how to leverage it as a weapon of combat and torture both, and as a way to even obtain more food from others.

And of course, their main targets had been those closest to them: Humans –Her children.

But even above all of that, above all her acts of extreme debauchery, Minagi had had the gall to create that most hated ritual: The Purple Sabbath. A night to occur every century that would focus the power of Darkness unto the women of the all who would fall under the purple moon's light and turn them into beings just like Minagi had become. A transformation that Ilias herself could do nothing about.

Oh how she despised that monsters. And still, she could do nothing on her own.

…

"But… I don't need to be on my own, do I?"

-X-

A single question, asked in a moment of clarity to oneself, led Ilias down a path that would change the world forever.

Indeed, she was powerless against a constant stream of multi-faceted attacks. After all, for all her power, she was but a single entity now. Ilias needed others who could stand up to the Darkness.

Easier said than done.

Only the Light could reliably achieve such a feat, and as out of tune as her Light was with the natural world, she wouldn't be able to simply infuse some random creature with it. She'd tried and now had a garden of tasteless statues to show for it.

Something else would need to be done.

Ilias chose to take a risk.

Gripping the top most pair of wings upon her back, Ilias tugged with all her might, screaming as they tore from her back.

A vessel was needed for the Light, but none on the world could receive it and live. Another, separate from her but like her had to be used; one which already had its own soul.

Those first wings would act as that vessel.

In them, she had placed all her Humility, and with it, crafted the one who would be Alice II's equal. And thus, the First Seraph, Micaela, was born; the Strategos of Heaven.