Reborn As A Maid

The blade came down.

Lilia KingHeart did not shut her eyes.

Bound, powerless and facing imminent death, the Queen of Seraiya refused to surrender to it. The straightening of her spine, the lifting of her chin, and the defiant gaze of her eyes fixed upon Jennie were clear proof of this fact.

On the opposite end of the ritual room, Jennie was fighting to move herself. Blood smeared in streaks through her silver-white hair under moonlight. With the right hand broken and hanging lifeless by her side, her fingers distorted in such a way that the demon guards winced when they looked at them. Each breath she drew burned in her bruised ribs, each beat of her heart reminding of how much she had lost.

But still she was moving towards Lilia.

One inch at a time.

Another inch.

Her left hand dragging behind her along the bloodied floor, her nails snapping, fingertips leaving bloody prints on the runes of that stone. Dragging herself with the strength of a man who had nothing to lose.

"Don’t..."

She whispered.

Her voice was a hoarse, raspy sound carrying in it more agony than any scream would.

"Zuko... don’t you dare..."

Lilia smiled.

The small, frail, and all too familiar smile she had given Jennie a thousand times in response to all those moments when it all was too painful for the both of them to bear. Moments when it felt like the world was being too cruel, and the future too uncertain, and their burdens too heavy for the both of them.

"Jennie."

Her voice was soft. Gentle. Calming.

Jennie lifted her head and widened her eyes with hope.

"No!"

Lilia’s lips formed another word.

Her expression serene—the expression of a person who had at last found his peace after all these years of searching.

"Even if I die today."

The glow of the Sovereign Mark flickered on her chest, weakly pulsating beneath the suppressing runes.

"Please remember me . At least for a year I hope ."

Her heart stopped beating.

" And I love you , Jennie. I really if we could get married and live together."

The tears streamed down Lilia’s cheeks, but her smile did not fade away.

"After I am gone , Take care of yourself and don’t be reckless. "

Her voice was trembling.

"...and kill them all ."

Her vision blurred.

" Kill them all , Jennie ."

Her eyes were shining with love—pure, unconditional, eternal.

Her smile grew wider.

Now the tears were streaming freely down Jennie’s cheeks, mingling with her blood.

"Please..."

For the first time, it wasn’t an enemy she begged for mercy. For the first time, it wasn’t a chance at survival she begged for. For the first time, it wasn’t forgiveness she begged for.

She only begged the world to show some mercy on the person she loved.

"Lilia, please..."

The Queen of Seraiya looked at her with infinite tenderness. There was no fear, no regret, no hesitation in her eyes.

"Please remember me , Jennie."

Her voice was barely audible now.

"I REALLY LOVE YOU ,JENN-"

The blade came down.

A single, merciful stroke.

One movement precise and without hesitation.

And Lilia KingHeart ceased to breathe.

It took one stroke and her head was separated from the rest of her body.

The sound was awful—crushing of the bones, followed by a quiet thump. Blood spouted from the cut throat in a thick stream, decorating the platform, the chains, the ancient stones with shades of death. It spread on the floor, reaching towards Jennie’s hand that stretched towards the dead body.

The head of Lilia rolled off.

Her blonde hair, which used to be so pretty, got matted with blood and dirt. Those b eyes, which used to look at Jennie with such love just moments ago—now they looked at nothing. They were empty. Lifeless. Windows to the soul, which was gone.

Her body fell to the ground near the altar.

The golden light faded in her eyes.

The Sovereign Mark went dark.

For a split second, everything froze.

Even the demons did not breathe anymore.

Even Zuko did not move for a split second, standing with his back to the crimson sky, Astraeus dripping with the blood of the queen.

Then Jennie screamed.

"LLILIAAAA!"

The scream tore through the chamber like a knife.

It was not a human scream. This was something more than that—a scream of a soul which was being torn apart. It echoed in the shattered walls, bounces off in the collapsing passages, went upwards towards the heavens where the World Tree looked with its old and indifferent eyes.

The demon guards took involuntary step backwards.

The face of Lokiar turned pale.

Even Noctis, who had seen so many horrors during millennia, closed his eyes.

Jennie tried to stand.

Her legs refused to do that.

She fell on the ground and crawled towards Lilia, scraping her knees against the broken stones. Her blood mixed with the blood of the dead girl and created a disgusting river of grief.

"No... no, no, no..."

She could not believe in what was happening.

Lilia was supposed to return to Seraiya.

She was supposed to sit on her throne, complain about the terrible tea Jennie made and pretended not to like the quiet moments they spent together. She was supposed to laugh at Roxy’s jokes and roll her eyes at Lucas’s protectiveness and take sweets from the palace kitchens when she thought no one would notice that.

They were supposed to have more time.

Much more time.

Jennie had come through all the horrors of the continent.

She had fought through the armies, the ruins of the ancient civilization and the Black Capital.

She had survived Rudy, the sweet, brave and ridiculous Rudy, who had followed her to hell and died for that.

She had survived the breaking of her hand, done finger by finger by Zuko.

She had survived everything because she was sure she could save at least one person.

But now...

Now there was nothing to save.

"Lilia..."

Her trembling hands reached towards the distant body. Towards the head which looked at nothing. Towards the blood that spattered on her knees.

"I came..."

The tears were flowing on her face, carving bright lines through the dirt and blood.

"I came to bring you home."

Zuko observed her.

He did not show any triumph. Not any anger. Not any satisfaction. Just the expression of indifference of somebody who observes the process of doing of something necessary—a scientist, who observes the result of the experiment, a scholar, who finishes the tedious calculations.

Then the Sovereign Mark burst.

Golden flame started burning from Lilia’s body, rising to the ceiling in a spiral. It was beautiful... terrible and beautiful—the last manifestation of the power which had defined an entire bloodline. The six remaining marks responded to it, giving their energy to the seven pointed structure.

The seventh mark blazed.

The ritual was completed.

And something inside Zuko suddenly woke up.

The first sound was heart beat.

THUMP.

The whole palace shook.

THUMP.

The clash of golden and crimson energies sent waves of the force through the room. The cracks went through the ceiling, and dust started falling down like gray snow.

THUMP.

Zuko bowed his head.

For a moment nothing happened.

Then he suddenly arched his back.

An awful, unnatural sound started coming from his body—sounds of breaking and reconstructing of the bones, tearing and rebuilding of the muscles, changing of the body to something it was never supposed to be.

His shoulders broadened. His spine stretched. His shadow grew longer, getting more and more monstrous with every second. His slender body of the teenage emperor started changing under the influence of an invisible force, which pulled away the restrictions from him.

Black armor-like plates started appearing on his skin.

His arms got longer and the muscles under the skin transformed into the body made for destruction, not life.

Then the horns appeared.

Two huge black horns grew from his head, going upwards and bending like a crown of the primeval creature. Small spikes started to grow on their bases, forming the sharp circlet which made every royal crown look like a plaything.

His height continued to increase.

The boy who had been standing before Jennie just moments ago became a giant whose head was close to the arches above the ritual chamber.

His face was changing too.

His youthful features disappeared under the more alien face. His jaw grew sharper, his cheekbones became more angular, and the eyes of blood red color were shining with the depth which made the surrounding darkness look pale.

His mouth opened.

Two rows of carnivorous teeth could be seen in it.

Then his hands changed.

His fingers grew longer and transformed into the black claws, able to tear through the stone. Metal-like discs appeared on the outer side of the palms and started rotating slowly, cutting thin blades.

His wrists grew a series of wicked spikes, which protruded like the weapons made directly from the bones.

Then his legs started changing.

Armor which covered them split, and his feet elongated, transforming into the monstrous digitigrade legs. Every foot was ending with two huge toes, ending with black claws which dug into the broken platform.

Finally, his back exploded.

Two gigantic wings appeared.These were not the elegant wings of angels or the gleaming wings of sacred creatures.

These were huge, black, and horrifying wings, made of leather between the jagged skeleton supports. They were glowing with the red veins under the skin and had sharp protrusions on their edges.

When they opened completely, they took away all the light from the ritual room.

The burst of demonic power erupted outwards.

The remaining pillars exploded, the altar cracked, the floor was turned into a million pieces and every demon in the room was forced to fall to its knees.

Even Lokiar stepped back, his face drained from color.

For the first time in his life the Lord of Illusions seemed to be truly scared.

"My Emperor..."

Zuko slowly lifted his head.

His huge body loomed over the destroyed ritual platform, his horns casting monstrous shadows on the walls. The black spikes on his wrists shone and his clawed hands were making a sound of metal being grinded.

Astraeus was still in his hands.

The huge sword, which was forged of the seven Divine Swords, seemed to be almost perfectly made for his monstrous body. It was shining with the golden, red and silver light.

Zuko looked at it.

Then he smiled.

"At last."

His voice sounded differently now. He had several layers of sound in it now and every word was echoing in the foundation of the world.

"For the first time since creation..."

He spread his wings.

"...I am complete."

The World Tree Alas Ramus roared above the Demon Continent.

Its ancient branches were twisting when the crimson chains broke one after another. The sky was darkening and the huge shadow covered the heaven.

Every living being in the world was feeling it.

The humans were falling on the ground in their houses.

The monsters were fleeing to the caves.

The dragons were leaving their nests.

And within the divine realm, the ancient creatures, which had been sleeping since the beginning of the time, were waking up.

The Demon Emperor had returned.

No.

Something even worse had returned.

Zuko raised Astraeus towards the ceiling.

"I am not the child anymore, who has been begging for the love of his mother."

He opened his wings.

"I am not the prisoner anymore, who has been sitting beneath the roots of creation."

His clawed fingers squeezed the hilt of the sword.

"I am the end of the world, which has rejected me."

He swung.

There was nothing spectacular here. There were no complex techniques, no incantations, no visible efforts.

Zuko simply brought Astraeus down with one single arc.

The blade threw out the crescent of the energy and cut through the ritual room and far beyond it.

The palace was splitting.

The stone walls, towers, bridges and huge barriers were sliced open as easily as paper. The shockwave burst from the Black Capital and created the big cut through the fortress and split the whole mountain nearby.

For several seconds the world seemed to lose the sound.

And then the entire construction started crumbling down.

The towers were falling, the bridges were breaking, the upper levels of the Imperial Palace were separating from their foundations and sliding aside on the huge crack.

The lava was shining far below the ruined palace.

The abyss of fire.

The wound, which was leading directly into the Hells.

Zuko was looking at the ruins.

"Beautiful."

He shifted his gaze to Jennie.

"Do you see it?"

Jennie was not replying.

She was still looking at Lilia.

The palace was collapsing around her, but she barely could hear the falling stones. The world in her mind was the silent and empty room, where only one thought existed.

Lilia was dead.

Rudy was dead.

Everyone who has followed her into this nightmare is dead.

And she was still alive.

Why?

Why was she still alive?

Zuko’s shadow fell over her.

"Jennie Queens."

She did not lift her head.

"Stand."

Nothing.

"I said – stand."

His voice was shaking the ruined platform.

Jennie slowly lifted her head.

Her golden eyes were empty.

Zuko was watching her for a while.

"Have you understood everything?"

Jennie looked at him. Then she looked at Astraeus – the sword, which was taken from the Divine Swords, which she once had. The weapon, which now contained the power of creation itself.

Her broken hand was trembling.

"No."

Zuko bent his head.

Jennie was pushing herself to one knee.

"I haven’t..."

She was struggling to breathe.

"... finished."

She was attacking him.

There was no sword in her hands. There was no Divine energy around her body. There were no miracles, which would appear for her at the last moment.

There was only Jennie Queens.

The wounded woman, whose body was almost at the edge of its forces, who has seen the death of two people she loved and now had nothing else left besides the will to make this murderer pay for what he did.

She jumped.

Her left fist hit Zuko in his abdomen.

The impact made almost nothing.

She twisted and hit his ribs with her elbow, then aimed a kick at his knee.

Zuko was watching her.

Jennie grabbed one of the spikes on his wrist and pulled herself close. She crashed her head into his face and then hit his throat with her left fist.

Every movement was desperate. Every strike was fueled by the grief.

She knew she couldn’t win.

But she was attacking anyway.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Her fist hit Zuko in his jaw. The small line of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth as the recoil went through her injured body.

"YOU KILLED THEM!"

She was hitting him.

"YOU KILLED RUDY!"

Another hit.

"YOU KILLED LILIA!"

She was screaming their names until her throat was hurting.

Zuko was standing perfectly still. He was allowing her to hit him. He was watching how she was falling, recovering and hitting him again.

At last, Jennie’s left fist was slowing down. Her knees were buckling and she was holding herself on his body, gasping for the breath.

Zuko was watching her.

"Is that all?"

Jennie was lifting her head. Her eyes were burning with the hatred.

"I’ll..."

She was swallowing blood.

"...kill you."

Zuko’s face did not change.

"You have already given me everything you have."

He grabbed her by the throat.

Jennie’s eyes widened.

The claws of his fingers wrapped around her neck, lifting her off the ground using just one hand. Her feet were hanging over the cracked rocks, and her hands instinctively grabbed his wrist.

She was having difficulty breathing.

Zuko kept her at eye level.

"The swords are mine now,"

His grip tightened a little.

"The queen is dead."

Jennie clawed at his hand.

"The girl you care about is dead."

Her movements slowed down.

"And the world you tried to save is now on the edge of its destruction."

Jennie tried to say something, but only a choked raspy sound came from her mouth.

Zuko looked at her.

"Tell me, Jennie. What have you got left?"

Jennie’s vision blurred.

She could see the golden hair of Lilia. She could see the smiling face of Rudy. She could imagine their voices—Rudy laughing at his jokes, Lilia being offended each time she called her troublesome.

For one single second, she pictured herself returning to Seraiya with both of them next to her. She could see Roxy’s frustrated expression, Lucas’s relieved smile, Snow’s sarcastic comments.

The vision vanished.

Jennie looked at Zuko.

And she smiled.

It was an awful, tired little smile.

"You’re..."

Her fingers clenched around his wrist.

"...afraid."

Zuko’s eyes narrowed.

Jennie coughed.

"You’re afraid that... nothing of this will matter."

For the first time after his transformation, the Demon Emperor said nothing.

Jennie’s smile faded.

"Even after... all this..."

Her voice was getting weaker.

"You still won’t be loved."

The atmosphere between them froze.

Zuko stared at her.

And then he hardened.

"Enough."

He threw her away.

Jennie’s body flew across the cracked platform and hit the cracked edge of the palace. Rocks burst around her, and she rolled across the cracked floor until she stopped near the large crack.

Below her lay the abyss.

The never-ending sea of lava was boiling within the depths of Hells. Streams of molten rock ran through the black mountains, and huge columns of flames shot out of the darkness.

Heat burned her face.

Jennie tried to move.

Her arms barely listened. Her injured right hand was unusable. Her left hand trembled, holding the stone. Each breath was like inhaling fire.

Behind her, Zuko approached.

His huge wings spread across the ruined palace, blocking the red sky. Astraeus laid in his clawed hand, its giant blade glowing with the power of seven Divine Swords.

Jennie tried to crawl away from the edge.

Her fingers slipped.

She collapsed face down.

"No..."

She tried to drag herself. Not that she believed she would be able to escape, not that she thought she could fight him.

She simply didn’t want to die here.

Not now.

She hadn’t avenged Rudy. She hadn’t brought Lilia home. She hadn’t returned to Roxy.

She hadn’t told her family that she loves them.

She hadn’t finished living her life, the one Miasa had given her.

"Please..."

The sound escaped her lips. She didn’t know who she was talking to.

Zuko stopped behind her.

"You still beg the world to leave you alone?"

He grabbed her by the nape of her neck and effortlessly lifted her up.

Jennie’s feet left the ground. She struggled weakly, her left hand grabbing his wrist while her injured right hand was just hanging.

Zuko carried her to the edge.

Below them, lava rushed. The heat twisted the air, making the abyss a living sea of fire.

Jennie looked down.

For the first time in her life, real fear appeared in her eyes.

"Zuko..."

Zuko stood at the edge of the cracked palace, his wings spreading wide in the burning sky.

"You wanted to save everyone,"

His voice sounded surprisingly soft.

"Now you can join them."

Jennie shook her head.

"No..."

Zuko looked at her once again.

"Goodbye, Jennie Queens. Or should I call you Leonis?"

He released his grip.

For a moment, she stayed suspended above the abyss.

And then gravity took her.

Jennie fell.

Her silvery-white hair flung in her face as the cracked palace disappeared above her. Heat rose to meet her, and darkness drowned the sound of her scream.

She tried to reach up. To reach the sky. The world she failed to save. Life she had wanted to live.

But she had nothing left to cling to.

Above the abyss, Zuko watched her falling into the depths of Hell.

His monster-like wings folded behind him. Astraeus sparkled in his hand.

The Demon Emperor had completed his transformation.

The Queen of Seraiya was dead.

The reincarnation of Leonis KingHeart had fallen to the Hells.

And the gods, watching the world for countless ages, found reasons to be afraid of the future.

Zuko looked up at the red heavens.

"Come, then."

His voice resounded over the ruined capital.

"Let the gods descend."

The World Tree screamed.

The sky tore apart.

And far below, where lava devoured all the light, Jennie Queens kept falling.