Chapter 255: Audience of One
’Ugh, finally. I was starting to think he’d never leave.’
Awilix sniffled, then laughed at herself.
’Oh woe is me...’
But, in that odd experience of reflection, she felt she had unlocked a core understanding about herself — the first step toward finding her essence.
Rage, rampage, slaughter...
They were without purpose.
Whatever methods one tried to use to justify the act meant nothing.
True purpose came not in the act, but in the motive.
A motive to protect, but destroy.
A motive to build, but break.
A motive to...
’Change, but stay...’
Awilix pushed herself off the ground, looked up at the moon hidden by the sun’s overbearing light, and began to dance.
***
"Awilix, are you dumb?"
"Huh?!"
"Why are you twisting that way? Remember what I taught you? Lefty loosey, righty tighty!"
"Oh. Oops."
The two girls had been traveling together for a little more than three years. And today they were celebrating Selene’s birthday!
Awilix hated Selene at first.
The silver-haired girl who’d messed up her rightful death.
The girl who’d made her violate Jik; she’d made Awilix anger the gods.
But Selene — a wandering girl who’d been cast out of her family to become a slave of a carney, soon abandoned because she failed one act — was able to show Awilix the fault of religion.
She used crass words like ’bullshit’ and ’dumbass’ when talking about something grand like the gods.
Yet, not once had a god come down and exercised their might upon her.
It became clear to Awilix...
The gods didn’t care about what she did, it was her tribe that did.
The two sat on their beds at the inn, giggling as they spread jam over their bread.
"Sel," Awilix chuckled as she shoved a piece of bread in her mouth. "What you wanna do next?"
"Hmm. Want to go to Lilat? I heard they have an amazing soup!"
Awilix smiled, a few chunks of bread slipping from her mouth.
"Shure!"
The next morning, the two girls who’d sworn a false oath of revenge headed out of Emena and into the wilderness, making for Lilat.
Both had told each other they’d band together on their travels and get revenge on the people who abandoned them, but both were well aware of the sheer futility of their endeavor. They merely used the vow to justify their extended travel partnership.
Not that either cared for that justification any longer.
Neither had said it, but regardless of what was seen as normal, the two loved one another.
Not just as friends.
Though neither had made any motion to reveal that truth to the other.
"How much does this famous soup cost, Sel?"
Selene rested her finger on her lip.
"Uh, I think about 10 marks."
"10 marks?! The hell? It better be good!"
"I pray so... but, if it isn’t, please don’t do what you did back in Exal."
"Huh? Those fuckers deserved it! How do you sell such terrible chickpeas?! I nearly gagged! They had it coming."
"They had a rampaging cat scratching their furniture coming?"
"Yup. Something wrong with that?"
Selene giggled.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
Then, she gently stroked Awilix’s ear**.**
"Gye-ah!"
Awilix shivered and jumped.
"D-don’t surprise me like that!"
With a smug look, the silver-haired girl said:
"But you look so cute when you make that surprised look."
"Bah!"
Awilix threw her face into her hands and blushed.
Selene suddenly stopped and tugged on Awilix’s arm.
"Something—"
That was the last thing she remembered before waking up on the ground, covered in blood.
Awilix gently lifted herself from the ground and looked over to see Selene locked in battle with Kane, her eldest brother.
"K-kane... what? Huh?"
"Oh? She’s still alive?"
On Awilix’s neck, a large torrent of blood was caked. Evidence of her neck having been split open; however, the wound was closed.
’Selene...’
She’d used her Aspect to heal her.
Kane laughed as he ripped Selene’s sword from her hand.
"How pitiful."
Kane threw the blade to the side, then charged at Selene.
’N-no!’
Awilix coughed and spit up more blood.
"Awilix, run!"
Selene ducked one of Kane’s swipes, then tried to lunge away from another, but he tore a sizable chunk from her shoulder.
’Y-you...’
Awilix tried to stand, but fell to one knee.
Kane cared not for one blow, continuing his relentless assault, plunging his claws into her delicate, pale skin over and over.
’Bastard!’
Gritting her teeth, Awilix stood up and quietly staggered. Her body swayed left and right as she forced it to move toward Selene.
Selene, on the losing end of the battle, noticed Awilix and was about to admonish her, but Selene stifled it.
’Huh....’
Instead, she waited...
Awilix tried to scream, but it was too late.
"S-stop!"
Selene had waited for Awilix to get close, then jumped into one of Kane’s strikes, trapping his arm deep in her guts.
She coughed blood and screamed.
"Now, Awilix!"
"You insolent wench!"
Kane screamed as he tried to free his hand, but Selene held it still. Her last act before the light washed away from her eyes.
Awilix staggered forward with tears streaming down her face.
She didn’t exactly remember what happened next, but in a fit of fury, she mutilated her brother.
After a while of staring at Selene’s dead body, she picked up the corpse and began to dance.
A dance under the moonlight.
A dance of souls.
***
Awilix didn’t cry as she danced.
She didn’t want Selene’s soul to see her cry.
Her form gracefully drifted over the meadows, her arms flowing like water and her body moving as if floating over the land.
A soft blue glow emanated from her form.
Selene’s soul was responding to her dance.
Awilix wasn’t sure how long she danced, having her eyes closed the whole time, but when she reopened them, the sun was gone from sight.
"I wasn’t able to see it before when we were fighting, but your dance truly is beautiful."
A shy goblin stood in the grass.
"But why do you look so... sad?"