Ai hears foorsteps from all sides, whispers coming closer and stopping abruptly. She feels two soft hands touching her and she shake hwmer head, the hands grab the blindfold.
She twitch her eyes from the strong lights at the corners
she look upwards seeing Cong looking at her with an unemotional face. Ai let her mouth agape. Cong takes a chair from the other end of the room and sits at the opposite side
"Are the ropes too tight?"
Ai shakes her hands and look at cong with confusion,
Cong eyes wide open and place her palm on her chest, and goes forward. Grabings Ais cheeks and lean her head towards her. looking her intensely
"you are too pure for this"
Ais eyes wide open, her mouth trying to form words and her face showing her confusion and betrayal.
Cong close her eyes and after some seconds seaming like hours she opens them and release her breath
"Not completely but for this world you are, a precious star"
Ai turn her head, looking over the walls
"Ai i will talk to you with honestly, i couldn't tell you anything as long as you were with contact with the others, i had to take drastic and dangerous measure to not kill you"
Ai stays silent, her eyes revealing rage and disappointment
"My real name, at least as my lost memory of mine goes is Arthiel"
Ai tries to form words , stummering at every sentence,
"And now that we are alone i can talk to you brazenly.how many times have you reincarnated? Three, four? My guess would be it"
Ai says nothing.
Cong contunues "The sword you took from the mountain, you remember right?"
She takes a deep breath moves her head affirmative
"Do you remember what happened before that?"
Ai stares lost
"You killed a man, the man that was the most dear to me, but of course you cannot remember, thats the power of the sword"
Ai focuse at Congs eyes. Whispering "the man you talked about?"
"Right"
Ai lower her tone. Her voice almoat breaking "im sorry"
she makes a pause "Then how do you remember him?"
"From my works, almost every little piece of my work has a piece of him, along with the notes i kept"
She takes a deep breath and look at the ground with a pensively look
"Sometimes i even cry that i lost so many dear moments with him the notes cant replicate. only having clear some of his actions"
Ai says nothing
Congs voice becomes softer
"But I don't want to hurt you"
Cong lay her hand on Ais shouldef
"Maybe in a previous lifetime we could be friends, like with faust. You could ease my pain as he and my art did"
She takes deep breaths "Memories or remnants like that are precious"
She breaths heavily "Ai now that you know the powers of the swor, i will expalin you the rest, at least what we know"
"I want you to come with them, my allies. help them strive with the rest to anhilate the decadance that had bestowed us. You understand at least at a point what is to reincarnate with your memories"
Ai sigh, and arthiel takes a knife from her back, and cuts the ropes and Ai gets up, always having her eyes towards Arthiel
"I will let you free after the carnage is ended"
"Carnage?"
"After that i will let you free to choose on your own"
"Arthiel which carnage?"
"There is a battle above us, our nations clashing at your capital"
Ai takes deep breaths, her face still shocked
"You have a choice Ai, a choice you will not have with the people you are now.Except one, which we can help him if if you finally come"
Ai says with a loud voice "let me think of it"
Arthiel nods her head, showiing her hand at Ai
"But you have to know your time is little"
Arthiel walk hesitant at the the door. Closing it feebly l,and Ai sits on the chair, sheathing her face with her hands and taking deep breaths before sensing the ground shaking.
She looks upwards and the ground shakes again, she takes another deep breath and the ground shakes repeatedly.
After many minutes The door opens and Arthiel comes inside with a bowl, a fork a spoon and with a cup of water "for here these items are lavishly, eat well"
Ai look at her and let a small smile that disappears immediately. Arthiel takes deep breaths and goes to the door
"In the next twenty minutes you have to decide your future. I'm sorry i cannot give you more time"
Arthiel almost close the door before she hears Ais voice
"What will happen if i refuse?"
Arthiel look at her for a minute, her eyes narrowing to the point of almost closing
"We will place you a blindfold and leave you outside the capital, somewhere where its safe"
Ai look with disbelief
"I will not tell you any more lies Ai, I want to give you a choice to change your fate"
Ai grabs the spoon and look at the soup, the fish and vegetables floating at the white broth.
Arthiel close the door gently and her light footsteps are vanished and Ai sllwly starts eating the soup, feeling the blunt taste of the fish and the sour taste of the vegetables, feeling the need to split it but her hunger kept her eating, feeling nauseous with every bit of it and feeling the ground shaking.
Arthiel enters inside "have you decided?"
Ai immediately says "im sorry, but I will not join you"
Arthiel stays calm "very well, but let me tell you some more things, not so much to change your opinion as for you to know the truth"
Arthiel extends her palm at the chairs, both of them sit and Arthiel look stubbornly at Ais eyes "Ai you know both of us will live forever, how do you feel about it?"
"I don't know
She place her arm underneath her chin "This is all because of the crystals, the same you touched , it grants us this curse, and as you understood the sword is the end of it. We speculate the sword and the crystals were crafted in an ancient civilization at the froxen mountains in grega that trancended in might , valour and technology every civilization today"
She makes a step closer
"If we take the sword we can end this, though we dont know if the sword makes our souls finite, but it will be better than the rot of reincarnation"
Ai continues to listen with great care
"I can already see it in your eyes, the love you once had starts fleeting"
She extends her arms almost ready to hug her before taking them back
"I beg you, for your sake and as a promise, maybe as Cong or Arthiel i do not care which one. don't let this love die"
"Ik begging you, for your own good and your loved one, and if not for my sake for Klaebens"
Ai eyes open wide, her breath cuts short and
The ground shakes again and Arthiel shouts with a clam voice "soldiers, bring the blindfold and deliver her to safety"
The soldiers rush with their hands only holding a blindfold
"Yes our ambassador"
The soldiers place the blindfold at Ai. Feeling their arms and blisters holding her shoulders, and making turns.
Explosions shaking their feet. the people holding her glamouring As they run. She hears another explosion in front of her, suddenly the hands get away from her and a stong knock is heard below her. a strong light hits her eyes and sees a woman with red hair infornt of her.
Ai kicks the womans leg, and she grunts "Ai im Anjian"
She shouts "Is this another trick?"
Anjian look exasperated opposite of Ai and says with elation
"Do you remember when i tortured two soldiers and you told me to stop?"
Ai look at her, extending both her hands and rushing at her before Anjian steps back "lets just go"
A soothing voice is heard behind them "that was unexpected even for me" he let a laugh and open his hands "Anjian, i believe you made your mind after all those years" he laughs again on a mattered tone
"But you suprised even me"
Sajero rush with his hand extended.
Anjian shoots two arrows. Sajero lean down, and the arrows passing above him. She takes a look at the pillars at her left.
She pull the string two more times dodging both.
Anjian shouts "Ai grab my blade and strike the pillar"
Ai takes her sword from the case and rush to the pillar. Sajero almost touch her, and an arrow pierce his hand.
Ai cuts the pillar and The roof crumbles and falls.
From the stones below Sajero, his hand extends as a fire covers his palm. Whispering "bravo Anjian, ive been suprised many times in this life"
Ai and Anjian run to the tunnels "i think i know where the others are"
Anjian lead the way at every turn, almost every way looking identical.on the end of the turn Screams are heard, Anjian pulls the string and as they turn four soldier's show their back on them.
She pull the string and hits the soldiers neck. Ai rush forward stabbing one on the back and the other. The sword of the other man comes pointing at her stomach.
Ai steps back and the man almost extends his blade before Anjians arrow pierce his eye.
They continue forward finding more men and flanking them. Turning again. Lixin and Fenua mustering with more soldiers.
the screams continue. Following them they see two lines of men and women. Anjian shoots a woman on the right. The line turns, and three soldiers rush as the others push.
Anjian shoots one of them and Ai deflects the spears of the other two. Retreating at each hit.
Anjian pulls the string again and hits one on the leg. Kneeling, and Holding from the spear, pushing to rise. Anjian pulls the string again ans shouts "move"
Ai steps right and the arrow strikes at the mans neck, abruptly ending his scream.
Ai look the mans at his eyes. Slashing his neck.
They look clearly at the tunnel. Men and women laying dead. Many smashed by rocks and dirt.
They walk forward and the men make a line. A shout is heard behind "she is one of us"
The soldiers look behind with distrust before another shout "soldiers take your weapons"
The soldiers point their spears upwards. Ai, and Anjian stroll to them and Femhua shouts "Ai where have you been?"
Ai ignores him. Anjian takes her blade back and whispers "tell Fenhua to lead you one"
Fenhua asks again louder with Ai extending her open palm "Please give me a sword"
Fenhua immediately looks down and lean her a short sword with blood on the blade and she takes it.
From their left a man shouts clearly "sir, they are ready"
Suddenly Ai feels her hunger vanishing.
Lixin comes forward shouting immediately "Ai you were supposed to be with the rest of us"
He stops and look at Anjian.
"Who is this?"
Anjian roll her eyes on the other side "im Anjian Lixin"
Lixin look at Ai nodding her head and he says "we have to continue. I will ask you later why you are here"
Ai fills "general Anjian knows how to traverse on thhis place. She must lead the way"
Lixin extend his hand, amand Anjian goes forward.
She lead them further to the monotonous tunnels.
Looking weary at each turn and corner.
Fenhua asks "do you know how many of them they are here?"
"Probably between fifteen and twenty thousand, though I dont know how much you depleted their numbers"
She look closely at the right and left turn. Shadows moving on the walls. She steps behind Lixin and the soldiers. As she draws her bow a woman appears from the left. Dirt falling from above .Ai, Anjian and Fenhua step back with their hands close to their body.
She rush at the debris, desperately digging the dirt.
Fenhua grabs her underneath her shoulder and says "lets look for another way"
Ai smile at him and go back, with Anjian pointing her finger at the right.
Lixin and the soldiers fight fiercely. At the end he wanders alone, finding a small wooden door.
He slowly opens it, making no sound. Creeping with spear out and shield close to hs body.
lookimg around him, he turn his gaze at the right. A shadow appearing ,and his breath cut short. he raise the sword and the shadow stays still. He look carefully at it, seeing the clay statue with its shiny body coloured white and bathed in salt, sulfur and mercury.
He look with great interest and his sight stays frozen for mere seconds before he turns left. Finding an erthu, brass and percussion instruments laying on the walls
From his right he hears light steps . Lixin turns amd blocks the sword. Seeing congs unemotional face.
He push her back and light sparks from the gauntlet on her left hand
"It seems you have seen it again general"
Lixin throws the case down. Opening it "you are the woman Ai bought to our house. So it wasn't a coincidence you make contact with her"
"At first i was hesitant if she was the one"
Arthiel clutch the grip of her sword, her arm shaking "I couldn't belive you would take your sword with you"
"It seems i made the right choice. Even if it was reckless"
Arthiel attacks, clashing sword.
Arthiel opens the gauntlet. Grabbing the sword. spark flying around it. She swings her sword on Lixins stomach, he stands back, smashing Arthies arm with his shield. Screaming and both again clashing swords with no sweat flowing on them. Lixin runs at her, arthiel trying again to grab the sword, and Lixin bash her body, turning her and slashing her wrist. letting a scream echoing on the tunnels. She takes deep breaths and open her arms, her eyes calm along with her breath .Lixin rush piercing Congs stomach, the blade extending behind her and he pulls it, with arthiel stepping at the statue, placing her red hands on it and the blood covering its stomach. she fall below the statue with her eyes staring at the ground.
Lixin raise his sword and hears foorsteps behind, he quickly rush at the case and place the sword inside, taking his spear.
Ai, Anjaina, and Fenhua appear. Sweat flowing on their foreheads and Ai walling.
Arthiel stare at Ai. Two small tears coming down at her pensively smile, trying to shout with her cracking voice
"remember me"
Al turns her head at distress. Taking her short sword and start scratching her skin, writings letters.
Cong let a smile, placing the gauntlet to her heart "if you can hear me, do not kill her, my dear da-"
Ai fall to her knees,a tear falling from her eye
Lixin look at her, still holding his sword, and Says with a strong voice "she was the enemy, why do you care?"
A blue light emits from Congs corpse and the group stays still.
Lixin look around him and the others do the same. Lixin stride forward "we do not have time for these. We have to leave and kill the rest of their forces"
Fenhua gives his hand and Ai holds it lightly. Wiping her tears.
"Why do you cry?"
Ai look around her and at the body. Memories of words for the sword come to her mind. Fading as Fenhua push her up and they walk to the tunnels before Lixin.
They walk to the tunmels. The soldier leaving ant they go outside. feeling the cold wind and their calves burning.
Lixin murmurs "i didn't believe the varina would left so many behind"
Ai look at the rumbles of the city and the blood and flesh of bodies decorating its deformed roads.
Lixin drops his spear
"This is what the enemy did"
Ai feels her mouth dry, she walks at the rumbles, her legs shaking and she look around at the bodies, some opened revealing their organs, others burned or opened with their insides smashed.
For a moment Ais heart beats fast before it calms along with her eyes and face, walking among them with even Lixin looking suprised at her.
Fenhua rush and hold her from her shoulder and says "lets go back to the house, the children will be waiting us"
Lixin fills "our first priority is to see the sword, then its to go to the palace"
And pass Ai, lengthening the distance between them and trying to have
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his eyes focus on the house, shaking his right hand and stopping it slowly. With Ai looking at it and Lixin
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