Chaos Ascendant

Chapter 15

She sat on the ledge of the balcony, watching the festivities. Things had worked out, in the end. Cepheid was unsealed, the Balance was far better than it had been hoped, and everyone had survived.

But she couldn’t go back to life as normal. She knew too much. She was too much. She’d lost too much of herself in the Ascension.

Not quite Lina, not quite the Lord of Nightmares.

Golden eyes watched the dark-haired princess run off towards the South Gate, towards the overzealous woman who waited without knowing who or what she was waiting for. That hadn’t surprised her. She’d suspected that one’s identity from the day Amelia had told her about her missing sister.

She watched as Cepheid spoke softly to Zelgadis, agreeing silently with the woman in white. He wasn’t nearly as pathetic as he thought himself, and the gift to him would be well received in time.

Gourry happily stuffed his face as Aurin and Elena offered him every delicacy that Kuroryu had to offer, while Luna and Sylphiel sat nearby enjoying the fresh air and the sunlight.

She saw the mayhem kicked up in the corner as Xellos and Shabranigdo played harmless pranks on Filia, mentally shaking her head as the pink-bowed tail poked out from under the long pink skirt.

She’d had enough time to realize that Kira Inverse wasn’t down with the others before a strong hand pushed her off of the balcony, causing her to collect magic around her before she fell. A flicker of anger flared, and she spun in the air to glare at her elder. “Explain yourself.”

Kira planted a foot on the lower ledge of the balcony, folded her arms, and looked at Lina. “You’re sulking.”

Golden eyes narrowed. “What I am is none of your concern.”

“Like Hell, it’s not my concern. Like it or not, you are related to me. And I’m older than you are, so it’s my job to be concerned,” Kira shot back, causing many on the ground to look up at the two above. “What was sacrificed, Lina?”

Silence fell as everyone who was within earshot of the question looked to the golden-clad figure hanging in midair.

She looked away from the brilliant golden fire that waited to embrace her. Ascension. Part of her mortal soul would be baptized within that flame, never to be the same again. Part of herself would forever be bound to Chaos, as eternal as the passing of the days and nights.

It was all or nothing. Should she turn from the flame, she would undoubtedly die along with the others in the resurgence of the War. And should she touch the flames, War might be averted, and she would live for untold millennia.

She had not chosen for her own sake. It had not occurred to her to choose for her own life. She’d made her choice because the others were involved. Because without her, they would die.

She’d made the choice because she loved them.

“I sacrificed myself. I gave myself away. I’m not Lina Inverse anymore. I can’t be. I gave her up in order to Ascend.” She whispered the words, looking quietly at Kira, unable to look away.

“Then why are you here? Why are you upset about it? If you weren’t Lina, what would keep you close to us? What would you want to do with us?” Kira retorted, fire flickering in her eyes. She pulled a slipper out of mid-air and threw it at the other redhead. “Don’t you see? The sacrifice that you made was the choice. You chose to do for others and not for yourself. That was your sacrifice. You are still you. You didn’t just bind yourself to Chaos. You’ve always been Chaos.”

It occurred to Lina that Kira was right. True, she had Ascended. And yes, she had given up herself in order to do so. But what she was given in return was far more than just herself. She had been given the power to fix things, the ability to restore it all and still be herself.

And she’d just been caught wallowing in her own self-pity.

She floated over to the balcony, landing beside Kira and regarding her for a moment. “So what happened to you?”

A flicker of the old Lina Inverse glittered in those strange golden eyes, and Kira smiled faintly. “I made an error in judgement, and stuck my finger where I shouldn’t have.”

A series of expressions flickered across the golden eyes, and then, at last, she began to laugh. It was a low, soft sound, and several of those who looked on from below had never heard her laugh like that. To them, it was a worrying sound, but Luna opened her pale lavender eyes and looked upwards. She knew that laugh, but she hadn’t heard it since before their father died. The sometimes-waitress had little doubt that was her sister.

The woman at the gate had yet to figure out how to open it. In fact, she was almost ready to throw a fireball at it and stalk off when it swung open seemingly on its own. Curiously, she peered into the archway, and most all sensible thoughts that she might have had came to a jumbled halt as she saw the small figure clad in white standing just inside the arch, looking to her with bright blue eyes.

“Amelia?”

She stared at the woman. Tall and scantily clad were two terms that came to mind as descriptives, but yes, it was undoubtedly her. She’d finally found Gracia. Bursting into tears, she dove headlong into her sister.

Zelgadis watched from a distance as Gourry leaned into Lina and made a comment that resulted in a deep flushing of the redhead’s pale cheek, and shook his head, hiding his smile. No, things would never be the same, but they were better, weren’t they? He looked quietly at his fingers. He knew what Cepheid had given him, knew what it could mean, knew what it didn’t mean, and smiled to himself. Call it an insane form of vanity, but maybe now that he didn’t look like a monster…

“I do not!” An indignant female voice burst through his train of thought, and he saw a slender blonde woman nose-to-nose with her mirror-imaged darker brother as they argued over something.

“Do too,” he retorted, and Zelgadis felt a familiar sinking in his stomach. The siblings from Hell were as different as night and day, and completely unable to get along for more than a few hours.

He stood, heading over to the now-forming group, intent on helping resolve this particular argument before it began the Wars all over again.