The chaotic symphony of destruction between Eve and the Drowned Revenant reverberated around us, the very fabric of the fragnt rupturing under the sheer magnitude of their battle.
My ears rang with each collision, the air thick with the tallic tang of energy being ripped apart and rebuilt in an endless cycle, all while Viviane and I were trying our best to fight against the unnatural tide that appeared to be rejecting Viviane despite her constitution as a water nymph.
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Viviane's barrier shimred weakly, struggling to withstand the aftershocks and the constant harassnt of the dense oily sea. "We really need to find the passage rift as soon as possible," she urged, her voice cutting through the cacophony. "This fragnt won't hold under their wrath."
"I'm sorry that I'm practically useless in this situation," I uttered.
"I'm glad that you're self-conscious, at the least."
Though I could try somashift my vessel into Lambda, I felt that I was being watched.
Before I could respond back, a voice—eerily similar to Viviane's—whispered through the chaotic din. "Hold still."
The world tilted.
I felt a wrenching pull, like an invisible hook yanking upward. The white void warped, twisting and stretching into impossible shapes as the voice repeated itself, firr this ti: "Hold still."
And then, we were gone.
When reality reford around , the oppressive weight of the fragnt's instability had vanished, replaced by an overwhelming stillness. The air was cool and crisp, carrying the faint scent of lavender and aged wood. My boots clicked softly against polished marble as I staggered, trying to reorient myself.
I found myself in an opulent foyer, the grandeur of the space leaving montarily speechless. Gothic arches stretched high above, their black and gold tracery forming intricate patterns that seed to shift subtly when I wasn't looking. A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, each crystal shard pulsating faintly with an internal light that seed far too alive for re decoration.
"Where are we?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Viviane, still visibly tense from the events of the fragnt, gestured to the expansive room. "One of Kuzunoha's private realms. She has several of these... sanctuaries, or mansions, at least twenty of them, if her bragging was anything but credible. They exist outside of Carcosa, detached from its chaos. Even the ti of Nihil cannot reach us here."
"Of course she does," I muttered. Leave it to Kuzunoha to have not just one but twenty private mansions across dinsions.
The sound of footsteps interrupted our conversation.
From the shadows of an adjacent hallway erged another Viviane. She was younger, her orange hair styled in a short bob that frad her sharp features, her eyes filled with a quiet determination that belied her youthful appearance.
"Well t," the alternate Viviane said, her tone clipped yet polite. She turned to my Viviane and gave a slight nod. "You took your ti."
"I was rather occupied," my Viviane replied coolly, though there was a flicker of relief in her tone. "I trust you've secured your target of rescue?"
The younger Viviane gestured toward the grand staircase that spiraled upward in elegant curves. "The others are here. You'll see for yourself."
I turned to my Viviane, my curiosity outweighing my disorientation. "Are they safe?"
"We'll see," she echoed, her lips twitching into the faintest of worry before she started toward the stairs.
It seed like she even had a trust issue with another version of herself.
We entered a sprawling parlor filled with an almost suffocating sense of class and luxury. The space was both cozy and intimidating, with towering bookshelves filled with ancient tos, plush armchairs arranged in conversational clusters, and a massive hearth crackling with a fire that burned in shifting hues of blue and green.
Ten more Vivianes were gathered here.
Each one was distinct. A stately, mature Viviane with long flowing hair exuded an aura of quiet authority as she examined a map spread across a table. A battle-scarred Viviane lounged against a pillar, her short hair and visible scars a sharp contrast to her cocky smirk. A child-like Viviane perched on the arm of a chair, swinging her legs idly as she humd a soft tune.
"Is this... a Viviane convention?" I muttered under my breath.
"It's not the first ti," my Viviane replied dryly.
The child-like Viviane giggled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "She's funny. Can we keep her?"
The scarred Viviane snorted, twirling a dagger between her fingers. "Careful, kid. This one's got enough trouble attached to her already."
Before I could respond, a pair of familiar voices called out my na.
"Lady Narcissus!"
I turned sharply, my breath catching as I saw them.
My precious bastioneers.
Yora, Kara, Erika, Sera, Alia, Naosi, Lydia, and Callista stood together near the hearth, their expressions ranging from relief to barely restrained joy. Erika, in particular, looked as though she might collapse from sheer emotion as she broke away from the group and rushed toward .
"Lady Narcissus!" she cried again, her amber eyes glistening with unshed tears. She dropped to her knees before , clutching the hem of my cloak as if it were a lifeline. "You're safe... You're really safe… I can't believe that this is happening… huwaaaa!"
The weight of her words struck . "Of course I am," I replied, keeping my tone even despite the lump forming in my throat. "You sound like I have been gone for twenty years.
Erika shook her head fervently, her tears spilling over as she looked up at with an expression of pure, unfiltered devotion. "It felt like more than twenty years!!"
The others approached more hesitantly, their reverence tempered by a mix of exhaustion and relief. "It's good to see you again, my Lady," Alia said, bowing slightly. "We feared the worst."
"As if she'd let sothing like the Nihil take her down," Lydia added with a smirk, though the tension in her shoulders betrayed the depth of her concern. "I think that underestimating our golden leader is quite arrogant on our part."
Sera adjusted her ek persona, but her sharp gaze lingering on . "Still... we're glad to see you in one piece!"
I nodded, my composure intact despite the surge of emotion threatening to break through. "I'm glad to see all of you as well," I said, my voice steady. "You've all done well to make it back here."
"Not without her," Naosi said, jerking her thumb toward Erika. "When we reunited along the way, she saved us more tis than I can count. Sohow, she always knew when and where to move, like she could see what was coming."
"I-I thought that we agreed to not report this to our glorious leader!" Erika embarrassingly complained.
"Hey, that is part of the leader's order right after you went cuckoo with the amount of idol statues that you created," Naosi shrugged.
"Uuuuh!"
My eyes narrowed slightly as I glanced at Erika, who flushed under my scrutiny. I filed the observation away for later. There would be ti to pry into that mystery. For now, I turned to the two figures standing slightly apart from the group.
Verina and Lupina.
"Verina," I said, my voice softening slightly. "Lupina."
Verina inclined her head, her expression unreadable save for the faintest glimr of relief in her eyes. "I see you've managed to keep yourself intact. I'd expect nothing less of my beloved fiance."
Ahahaha, I hope that she won't ever know that there was just another person who had also proclaid as their fiance.
Lupina, cradled in Verina's arms as usual, grinned lazily. "Told you she'd be fine. Our Lady's too stubborn to let so cosmic nonsense take her out."
"What kind of impression do you have of ?"
"Another living nonsense," Lupina replied dryly. "The good kind, obviously."
"Because my existence is benefitting all of you."
"Correct~!"
"Haa," I sighed out an air of relief. "I regret worrying all of you."
Our casual yet warm acknowledgnt brought a sense of normalcy back to the surreal reunion. I was about to respond when Viviane—my Viviane—interjected.
"She cried," she announced, her tone far too neutral to be innocent.
I froze, my carefully crafted composure threatening to shatter. "What?"
Viviane continued, ignoring the mortified glare I shot her way. "When we were trapped in the fragnt, she cried a river worrying about all of you."
A stunned silence followed.
Then, to my utter dismay, Erika burst into tears again, this ti from sheer joy. "Her holiness," she sobbed, clutching my hands tightly. "You... you care so much..."
Even Verina's lips twitched into a faint smile that was nearly bursting into sothing else, and Lupina let out a low chuckle. "Well, well. Looks like soone does have a heart after all."
"I do not cry," I said firmly, though my voice lacked its usual authority. "Viviane is exaggerating. Also, since when did I ntion that I don't have a heart?"
"She isn't," the child-like Viviane chid in cheerfully. "You were a ss."
I buried my face in my hand, muttering a string of curses under my breath. "I am surrounded by traitors."
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