Mission details here.
Part 2
It had seemed impossible, much like most of what Levinia had been through over the past few months, but it had been done. Time and again, Levinia had been pitted against forces that had seemed outrageously powerful, with all the odds stacked against her, and still, time and again, the uncanny duo of mentor and protegee had managed to beat those odds. If someone had told her that she would manage to achieve this much, she would have laughed and flat out disbelieved them. And initially, she had believed that her progress had been only possible because of Beira, but her faith in herself had begin to take strong root. It was true that the Winter God Slayer had been instrumental in getting her this far, and without Beira, she would never have been able to achieve any of these accomplishments. Nevertheless, all these recent events had shown Levinia that she was quickly becoming someone who did not have to rely on everyone else for help and protection. This simply meant that she was maturing into the woman she had always wanted to be: the one whom others could rely on.
Back to the present: after an ordeal that would best be suited to one of those techno-horror story lines she had seen on some lacrima vids, Levie had managed to get to the forehead of the Archaean, where she had done battle with the blood red gem situated there, which seemed to be symbolic of its life force. She had been surprised that she had made it to the top before her mentor, but Beira had showed up in the nick of time, and with her icy power, had destroyed the Archaean's power. The moment that happened, however, the artifact Key had sprung to life once again, and whisked them away from the head of the colossal demon and its truncated plans for heavenly conquest.
As the void engulfed the golden time capsule in which they traveled once again, Levinia wondered what would happen to the Archaean. Surely, a being of such proportions falling back to the earth would not bode well for the inhabitants of that land. As if to answer the unspoken question on her mind, even before she voiced it to Beira, the dark of the void flickered for a moment, then showed a fleeting vision of the Archaean, its head still pointed to the sky, its body transformed to inanimate stone, as it plummeted back to the rocky earth. Then, molten cracks began to spread all over its body, and it began to disintegrate into fine dust and ash, beginning from its extremities: its toes, fingers and wings. Then the vision was gone, and the darkness outside prevailed.
Levinia let out a sigh and sat herself down. She was inwardly very relieved that the Archaean would not be much of an issue to the denizens of its world, if its decomposition rate was anything to go by. By the time its body would reach the sands, it would have been completely reduced to little more than nothing. Come to think of it, though, the dwellers of that realm of existence might have some breathing difficulties over the next few days, unless the dust and ash were magical and disappeared into oblivion. Hopefully, that was the case.
There was something about this mission that made Levinia introspective. The more power one had, the more easily one could influence their environment, for good or for ill. She wondered how many worlds out there might have been snuffed out by the irresponsible and selfish decisions of others, who wanted a particular goal at any cost. It was a good thing for every land to have its defenders, and silently, she thanked everyone who had, directly or indirectly, made Earthland a relatively safe place to live in. And once again, she promised herself that she would become one of such Earthland defenders, as far as was possible with her.
"Hey, Beira..." she started to say, then stopped short. For the artifact Key was thrumming loudly again, and the darkness beyond was starting to flicker, like a vision was imminent. That was strange. Levinia was sure that the visions would end with the Archaean's demise, but obviously, that was not the case. Everything turned black, but it was not the darkness of the void. This darkness seemed invasive, alive, suffocating, like it was poisonous to anything that dwelt within it. And it seemed so familiar, and angry. It whispered harshly, like it was spitting invective in a lost tongue. But before Beira or Levinia could get any more uncomfortable, the darkness retreated. A picture of a large ziggurat-like building appeared, sitting in a dark barren landscape, with a solitary glow at its zenith. Levinia leaned forward and peered more closely at the image; it was like she had seen this place before. The picture shuddered and vanished, then opened into a room. The room resembled an ancient observatory, with all sorts of devices and tools arranged neatly about. Then the vision focused on a white withered thing, which rested in an arcane circle drawn with purple dust.
Levinia's eyes widened slowly, as she stared at it. There was no mistaking it: the Key was showing her a vision of her lost right arm!
Almost instantly, the scenes shifted again, and the more familiar geography of the Rectifier's bleak but tranquil world appeared. The Key emitted a warbling sound, then drew the bubble that had borne them through the reaches of space and time into itself. It then powered down, looking for all intents and purposes like a large bronze coin, which fell to the smooth floor of the throne room. Levinia looked at Beira, her eyes still saucer-wide, her face a mixture of conflicting emotions.
"Beira... that was my arm!"
The Rectifier watched the two mages silently, its orb head resting on a bony hand, much like a normal person would rest their chin against their hand. Even though the 'head' was completely devoid of visible emotion, it was obvious that the Rectifier had taken interest in what they had just seen, and probably wanted to see how things would play out from here.
Part 2
It had seemed impossible, much like most of what Levinia had been through over the past few months, but it had been done. Time and again, Levinia had been pitted against forces that had seemed outrageously powerful, with all the odds stacked against her, and still, time and again, the uncanny duo of mentor and protegee had managed to beat those odds. If someone had told her that she would manage to achieve this much, she would have laughed and flat out disbelieved them. And initially, she had believed that her progress had been only possible because of Beira, but her faith in herself had begin to take strong root. It was true that the Winter God Slayer had been instrumental in getting her this far, and without Beira, she would never have been able to achieve any of these accomplishments. Nevertheless, all these recent events had shown Levinia that she was quickly becoming someone who did not have to rely on everyone else for help and protection. This simply meant that she was maturing into the woman she had always wanted to be: the one whom others could rely on.
Back to the present: after an ordeal that would best be suited to one of those techno-horror story lines she had seen on some lacrima vids, Levie had managed to get to the forehead of the Archaean, where she had done battle with the blood red gem situated there, which seemed to be symbolic of its life force. She had been surprised that she had made it to the top before her mentor, but Beira had showed up in the nick of time, and with her icy power, had destroyed the Archaean's power. The moment that happened, however, the artifact Key had sprung to life once again, and whisked them away from the head of the colossal demon and its truncated plans for heavenly conquest.
As the void engulfed the golden time capsule in which they traveled once again, Levinia wondered what would happen to the Archaean. Surely, a being of such proportions falling back to the earth would not bode well for the inhabitants of that land. As if to answer the unspoken question on her mind, even before she voiced it to Beira, the dark of the void flickered for a moment, then showed a fleeting vision of the Archaean, its head still pointed to the sky, its body transformed to inanimate stone, as it plummeted back to the rocky earth. Then, molten cracks began to spread all over its body, and it began to disintegrate into fine dust and ash, beginning from its extremities: its toes, fingers and wings. Then the vision was gone, and the darkness outside prevailed.
Levinia let out a sigh and sat herself down. She was inwardly very relieved that the Archaean would not be much of an issue to the denizens of its world, if its decomposition rate was anything to go by. By the time its body would reach the sands, it would have been completely reduced to little more than nothing. Come to think of it, though, the dwellers of that realm of existence might have some breathing difficulties over the next few days, unless the dust and ash were magical and disappeared into oblivion. Hopefully, that was the case.
There was something about this mission that made Levinia introspective. The more power one had, the more easily one could influence their environment, for good or for ill. She wondered how many worlds out there might have been snuffed out by the irresponsible and selfish decisions of others, who wanted a particular goal at any cost. It was a good thing for every land to have its defenders, and silently, she thanked everyone who had, directly or indirectly, made Earthland a relatively safe place to live in. And once again, she promised herself that she would become one of such Earthland defenders, as far as was possible with her.
"Hey, Beira..." she started to say, then stopped short. For the artifact Key was thrumming loudly again, and the darkness beyond was starting to flicker, like a vision was imminent. That was strange. Levinia was sure that the visions would end with the Archaean's demise, but obviously, that was not the case. Everything turned black, but it was not the darkness of the void. This darkness seemed invasive, alive, suffocating, like it was poisonous to anything that dwelt within it. And it seemed so familiar, and angry. It whispered harshly, like it was spitting invective in a lost tongue. But before Beira or Levinia could get any more uncomfortable, the darkness retreated. A picture of a large ziggurat-like building appeared, sitting in a dark barren landscape, with a solitary glow at its zenith. Levinia leaned forward and peered more closely at the image; it was like she had seen this place before. The picture shuddered and vanished, then opened into a room. The room resembled an ancient observatory, with all sorts of devices and tools arranged neatly about. Then the vision focused on a white withered thing, which rested in an arcane circle drawn with purple dust.
Levinia's eyes widened slowly, as she stared at it. There was no mistaking it: the Key was showing her a vision of her lost right arm!
Almost instantly, the scenes shifted again, and the more familiar geography of the Rectifier's bleak but tranquil world appeared. The Key emitted a warbling sound, then drew the bubble that had borne them through the reaches of space and time into itself. It then powered down, looking for all intents and purposes like a large bronze coin, which fell to the smooth floor of the throne room. Levinia looked at Beira, her eyes still saucer-wide, her face a mixture of conflicting emotions.
"Beira... that was my arm!"
The Rectifier watched the two mages silently, its orb head resting on a bony hand, much like a normal person would rest their chin against their hand. Even though the 'head' was completely devoid of visible emotion, it was obvious that the Rectifier had taken interest in what they had just seen, and probably wanted to see how things would play out from here.
WC: 1035/20000