Crystalline Chaos

by Gabriela Voelske

  Chapter 13: Constructed Madness

  Sakura’s body was numb but her mind made her push on, unsure where she was even heading anymore. The same creature she had found in the lodge was trailing by her side, nudging her on if she started to drag behind. A strange sight lay ahead of her, though she was struggling to see in the unrelenting, bitter winds. She could just about make out massive glowing structures, surrounded by a seething mass of dark shapes, which turned to regard her as she approached. The creature that had been following her signalled to the others guarding the tower, using flashes of magic to relay a message or to announce their arrival. In a swift movement, they parted, creating a passageway that lead to an entrance, which she stumbled towards slowly.

  Once inside, the creature shepherded her up a winding staircase that was completely blurred to her, reaching out occasionally to stop her walking off the edge. As it reached the top, it looked around, searching for which door held the magical signal it desired. The far door attracted its interest, so it directed her towards the room, nudging her back with its head to speed her up. It wrapped one of its hands around a roughly carved doorknob and pushed the door open, revealing the room ahead. This room was darker than the rest of the visible rooms within the spire with multiple pieces of furniture moulded from the crystal walls that lined the room, though she was unable to see what they were.

  “You may leave us now,” a male voice arose from within the room. The creature slunk out of the room and the door shut behind it. “So, one managed to survive this process then,” it continued. There was a figure walking around the room; it appeared human in shape and size. With a wave of its hand, her mind cleared and she collapsed down, gazing up at the one in front of her. It was indeed a human, a fairly young one from what she could see from her position. “The others have killed themselves before now,” he mused, “you’re the first demon I’ve had, though, perhaps that’s why.” He regarded her for a while longer, studying her body; it was the first demon he had ever seen in his life. Her physique interested him, but more so her mind. She must be strong to have not have attempted to take her own life considering what he polluted her mind with, part of her must still recognise that it was an illusion.

  “Who are you?” Sakura panted. Her body was too exhausted to move after being in the frigid conditions for so long.

  “Call me master,” the man demanded, attracting a scowl from her.

  “Like hell!” she spat; the man clenched his fist and she felt a severe pain spike in her head, causing her to double over where she lie.

  “Shall we try that again?” He released the mana spike he had activated on her, causing her to once again crumple down. Her body seethed with pain, she thought it best to play along for now. Doing so might prolong her survival.

  “Yes, master…” She replied through gritted teeth, it pleased him enough, however.

  He pointed at a scruffy blanket and pillow that lay in the corner of the room, beckoning her to go over to it. “That is yours.”

  She peeked at the items; her body was still freezing and she desperately needed the warmth so she slowly dragged herself over, to the amusement of her onlooker. Wrapping herself tightly with the blanket, she rested her head on the pillow and laid there shivering, periodically looking up at the man that was still watching her.

  “Why are you doing this?” Sakura flinched slightly as he raised an eyebrow, but the question appeared to be one he was wanting.

  “I was wronged, the Magi Council decided to have me cleansed.” That fact didn’t surprise her, considering the personality of the man that was addressing her.

  “You survived, though,” she remarked on the obvious, but she was trying to keep him amiable. He paused for a moment before walking up to her, pushing his hair aside to reveal his face.

  “Barely,” he replied. The left side of his face was covered in burn scars, which appeared to continue down his body.

  “I’m sorry.” Some part of her did feel truly sorry for the man stood in front of her, he must have suffered deeply with that wound.

  “That is why I’m taking my vengeance out on those who left me to die.” He smiled, turning to a grin as the thought ran through his mind. Sakura took a deep breath; the man was becoming notably twisted in the mind, her sympathy for him was starting to become fleeting.

  “Is it right to punish those who are innocent as well though?” she inquired, remembering her own wounds well, as well of those of her father. The man thought about the question for a second, regarding her as he remained stood over her body. He bent down and started lightly tugging on her ear, before running his hand through her hair and across her horns, she gave him a dubious stare but he was not bothered.

  “No,” he admitted, “but sometimes things are necessary.” Sakura was stunned by his answer; she had expected the complete opposite. “The Magi Council will never admit their fault, nor will they ever relent in their campaign.” Rogue or otherwise unaffiliated mages were the banes of the Council; those who fell into one of the two groups often found their lives cut short, silently being removed from the pool. Considering the Council only consisted of human mages, the mages of the other two races were always under threat, something neither leader was overly fond of. “I can tell you have experience with this yourself,” he remarked. She wondered how he knew such a thing, was her body language that obvious when he mentioned?

  “My father has, yes.” Sakura watched as his interest grew, she was unsure just how far to rouse it, the last thing she wanted was for him to hassle the West.

  “What did he do?” he probed, still remaining too close to her for her liking.

  “He was Court Mage to a tyrant King,” the demon sighed. Her father was always uncomfortable about telling her his past, though over a few years she had managed to tease out most of the details. Amnur had performed some terrible acts in the time he served, but he was as much a victim of the King as Sebastian was, although Sebastian was unwilling to listen to the fact. He had suffered due to committing insubordination; after a while, he broke, bowing down to the one who had tortured him so.

  “Ah, I see,” he replied, standing back up and walking away, continuing to face away from her as he went.

  “How about you? How old were you when it happened?” She relaxed as he backed away, although the distance between them made no difference in regard to the effective range of his magic. It did however, make her more comfortable with him at a distance, as his temperament was unpredictable.

  “Eight. The cowards in the Magi Council wouldn’t try such a routine if they thought me capable of retaliating,” the mage’s distaste over the past was evident in his voice. Sakura watched as he tensed his hands before releasing his grip. For such a young child to have a drastic upheaval occur in his life, it was no surprise that it had fostered hate as he recovered. Hate that went unchecked as he grew up separated and alone. To think this man stood in front of her was once a carefree child was saddening. Such a fate could have been shared by her if the Council had been proactive with trying to dispose of Amnur.

  “Do you mind if I asked for your name?” Sakura asked; a name was something personal, a way for her to tie the lost innocence of this boy into something to be remembered. A way for her to challenge the Council over the whole thing, if they tried anything over her father in light of this event.

  He thought for a moment, a hint of annoyance ran through his mind but he kept his calm. These personal questions weren’t appreciated, yet part of him wished to tell her more. “Maelor,” the mage spoke, attempting to bury the odd sensation that was affecting his mind, “not that it makes any difference to our arrangement.”

  Sakura cocked her head at the change in tone as he spoke his name. It sounded genuinely soft, before reverting to his inherent underlying aggression. The hostility had increased after that question, it would not be best to push him further.

  “Tell me something demon, do you think I’m right in what I’m doing?”

  The question was a sho
ck; she somehow doubted that saying no would sway his mind. If anything she would expect him to punish her for saying such a thing.

  “I can see your reasons why, though I’d prefer if you were more discriminate in your targets,” she said, trying her best to keep her expression straight. It appeared to please Maelor, who bore a smile as he turned back around.

  “Do you always lie so consistently?” His expression became increasingly worrying as she lay there, too stunned to respond. The mage crouched down and placed a hand against her forehead, she reached out and grasped his wrist but her confidence left her body as he roared with laughter. “I have no need to speak with you any longer,” he replied, prying her hand from his wrist and throwing it back at her.

  As he clenched his hand, an excruciating burning pain spread through her body. Her vision turned to blackness as she dug her fingers into her arms. “I’ll let the memories of your loved ones torment your mind,” he remarked as he left her to suffer in the corner while he returned to the desk. He had much to plan still.

  * * *

  Amnur stood in the snow, blades drawn and well alight, eyes focusing intently on the area ahead. Abel and Na-ri stood alongside him with an elemental sat at their heel, examining the area. From inside the snowy veil, an Acromantis appeared, scythes flared, charging towards Amnur who was closest to its current position. Amnur crossed his blades to catch the scythes, knocking the creature back a step before following up with an arcing slash, cutting its neck clean from the body. More emerged from behind the shattered remains of their ally, letting out a shriek as they descended onto the demons ahead.

  A wide spread of icicles greeted the first one, piercing deep into the creature’s body, shattering it as they were extracted back out. Another one met with a bright form, slashing out at the blurred glowing figure. The attack had no effect, instead, the creature received the sharp end of a blade, splitting it nearly in two. It staggered back, only to receive another wound from the weapon and the creature shattered as it fell down to the ground.

  The rest that appeared met similar fates, the ground was starting to be covered in deep purple and orange shards, with a few hints of other colours mixed in between.

  On the far side, Crono stood alongside Ciel and Drake. The assault on their end was fleeting at best, the majority of the Nightmares that tried to reach their side found the bog that surrounded Linlake first, trapping them within the sticky waters. Not that such a fate would kill them, but it certainly reduced the load they were experiencing; if their theory was correct the creatures would eventually die from their crystallised mana anyway. A few demons remained around the perimeter just in case any did manage to navigate the bog, the majority of the combatants gathered around the northern or eastern entrances.

  “Think our opponent’s starting to get scared?” Crono chuckled as he drove a solid metal glaive through the head of a Banshee, the weapon was considerably huge but its owner was not a small demon. The Banshee ripped its head free, breaking the front half of its face off as it jumped back, tail raised as it began to cast. Its life was cut short, however, when its tail was crushed in Drake’s powerful grip, crumbling between his fingers.

  “Just a little,” Drake laughed, picking up a surprised Acromantis and breaking it into two. Blades dug deep into the tail of another Banshee that was trying to sneak around the two giants clearing the field, collapsing it where it stood.

  “Best not to get too cocky,” Ciel shouted as he readjusted his position, dodging an incoming ram of a flaming Acromantis. He leapt into the air and extended the range of his blades by solidifying the film of magic that flowed over them, driving them into the crystal pockets of its back, safely out of the range of the fires that lined its body.

  A distraught shout caught Ciel’s attention; a human was desperately trying to reach to reach his position, scrambling through the thick snow. Ciel ran over to him, as he was about to ask what the problem was the man pointed towards the distance. A pitch black shape was emerging and it was massive. Ciel’s eyes went wide, it looked notably taller than Drake and highly dangerous, no obvious crystal veins were present on its hulking body either.

  “Drake we have a problem!” he bellowed, gathering the attention of the demon who was snapping the smaller Nightmares like twigs.

  Drake saw the oncoming monster and cursed, charging forward to meet it before it reached the village. Before it had time to react to his sudden presence, he wrapped his arms around the creature, flattening its arms against its body and driving his fingers deep into the creatures back. The arms were not completely incapacitated, however; their blue hue was quickly lined with flame before they scratched at Drake’s chest. He winced with pain but kept his grip firm, throwing a pleading glance down to the others to deal with the creature.

  Crono swat the minor Nightmares away and closed in behind the massive creature, examining its features. Two elongated protrusions rose out from its back, almost like bony wings. Small crystals lined them in bands, which provided him with a suitable target. He drove the glaive into the base of the protrusion and ran it along; the body was solid and took a fair amount of effort to crack it, but Crono managed. The creature howled in pain, turning its head towards Crono and spitting globs of flame. He dodged out the way, watching the snow behind him turned to steam before dashing around its tail.

  Crono soon became aware it was a poor decision when the creature’s tail slammed into him. His side ached but he swiftly moved away from the tail’s reach, clutching his side. Now the creature was distracted, Ciel flew up to its face, violently fighting the wind as he went. He dug one blade into the top of its crystalline eye to keep himself balanced while using the other blade to slash at the rest. It reacted by slamming its head down, trying to throw Ciel off as it went. The move was, however, met by Drake’s upwards pointing horns, which pierced straight through its head, narrowly missing where Ciel was hanging off. Crono picked himself up and moved around to the other side, ripping his glaive through the remaining protrusion. The creature went limp, before shattering under the pressure of Drake’s arms.

  Ciel grabbed his blades and moved away from the falling shards. He stared up at Drake; his chest was burnt and bleeding and the wounds extended a fair way down. “Are you alright Drake?” Ciel asked him, noticing the fact he was staggering.

  “I’ll live,” he sighed, the pain was severe from his wounds but he was managing to concentrate past it, even if his body was a little wobbly.

  “I’d feel a wuss to make a comment after seeing that,” Crono laughed, examining Drake while still clutching his side. Ciel noted Crono’s pain and considered the situation; the monstrous creature appeared to be the last of them on that side, or at least none were actively attacking anymore.

  “It’s over, let’s head back and get you two some help,” he spoke; the authority in his voice was noticeable, Crono was impressed by it.

  As they returned, they noticed a gathering on the porch of Crono’s house, huddled over something that was not obvious from where they stood. Amnur heard their approach and turned around, regarding them.

  “What happened to you two?” he enquired, his voice was tinged with concern, despite his rather plain expression. The question received the attention of the others, who were shocked at Drake’s wounds.

  “You mean you weren’t attacked by a massive creature?” Crono remarked with a pained expression, the confused look from Abel and Na-ri confirmed the answer to that question was no.

  “We did not,” Abel replied, glancing down at the thing on the floor.

  “We did, however, find this one,” Na-ri continued, moving aside to reveal a collapsed Acromantis. It was still alive but barely, it whined and tried to move but failed to shuffle itself.

  “One that’s dying naturally, in a sense,” Ferdan piped up from the back, clarifying the situation. He stood up and went over to Drake, who lifted him up to check his wounds. On closer inspection the cuts were shallow, they did not appear to completely pierce through th
e layers of his skin; they were, however, burnt and could possibly scar.

  “It’s mainly surface damage,” he said, to the relief of Ciel. “Let’s go inside, I’ll tend to both of you there.” Drake held Ferdan in his hand as he began to walk towards the entrance, with Crono and Ciel behind. They walked past the group at the entrance, throwing a glimpse down at the dying creature, before entering the house. Ciel stayed behind, crouching down next to Amnur, who shot him a look but said nothing.

  “The creatures are being held here beyond their will,” Abel mused, running his hand along the creatures pointed head, feeling the small protrusions that erupted from its crown.

  “Its mind is being tormented by constant pain, as well as some chaos magic,” Na-ri stated, her hand was placed upon one of the crystals that lined its back.

  “He’s basically driving them insane and then directing them at us,” Amnur replied to their comments. His mind raced back to Sakura, he certainly was going to make sure the bastard behind all of this suffered a painful end. His pain must have been obvious, as Ciel put a consoling hand on his shoulder.

  “We’ll get her back, don’t worry,” Ciel said. He noticed that Abel’s piercing white eyes had locked onto him, but the demon said nothing.

  “So this is what one of these things look like when they’re not trying to cut you,” a female voice spoke up from behind them, startling those gathered around the creature. Amnur looked up at the newcomer, surprised by who he saw in front of him.

  “You’re that woman who came with the expedition.”

  Ciel looked up at her; the information the East had received was that everyone had been considered dead.

  “Lauri,” she corrected, “how do you know?” In response, Amnur pulled out a familiar obsidian pendant and offered it to her. She accepted, giving him a strange look.