Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

So this my idea for my first actual fanfic. Im not sure when im gonna start actually writing it but think of it as a preview as the summary show.

If this idea intrigues then please comment.

Chapter Text

Emptyness.
Nothingness.
Indescribable.
Inexplicable.
Unthinkable.

Those were the easiest words to describe what the young blonded haired girl was "seeing".

Any normal human would have lost their mind the instant they gazed upon what cannot be properly conveyed by their minds.

But the girl in question was not normal. Nor could she truly qualify as "human" in the first place. Being a human was something she had long since stop being.

And this place beyond reality, between the worlds, was a unfortunate reccuring sight to her eyes. Drifting alone, floating in this nothingness was the start and end of a cycle.

A curse cycle. Of pain, of despair, of death, of futility. For as long as she could remember she was chained to a destiny. One of no salvation, that she herself could not stop and only gaze upon the ruins she brought.

The only thing the girl could use as an anchor in this void was the purple book she was clutching. The only momentum of her past and of her home.

As she floats inside this empty space she closes her eyes and let her mind drift off to memories of the past, fragmented they may be.

Memories of her recent life.
Memories of her purpose.
Memories of her home.

Belka.

Chapter Text

Magic.

A word that describe what is fantasy to reality. That can do what cannot be done in real life. Thought it is said to be simply children's tales, it is very much not.

Across the universe, magic or mana is in everything, from plants, to animals, to the very air itself. It is essentially the main source of energy in existence.

All beings who possesses mana inside of them can attribute this due to having was is called a "  Linker Core " .

A linker core is essentially a additionnal organ that can only be use by those who practice magic. While say 1000 people have linker cores, only a dozen may be capable of awakening it and thus manipulate magic and cast "  spells " . 

None one is sure when the first magic users appeared and on which world they came from. The oldest known evidences is a rusted book of indecipherable language that is said to date back over 6 milleniums ago. 

The usage of magic quickly allowed societies to flourished beyond their imagining, eventually even allowing the ability to traveled to other worlds across the cosmos. Mana was even found to be comaptible with technology itself. Thus magic and science ended up becoming one and the same, though both were still used independantly from one another from time to time.

While many civilisations began to expand across the universe there was one in particular who stood out.

One whose name is a legend and whose existence is considered to be a myth.

Al-Hazard the forbidden civilisation.

Al-Hazard

Little is known about the origins of this mysterious civilisation. What is known however was that its mastery of magic and technology was unrivaled in its time and may very well be in the current times.

The Al-Hazardians were rumored to have achieved so much power that they could manipulate the flow of the space-time continuum, observes parallel worlds and even brought back that which was dead.

It was Al-Hazard who create what would be the " roads"  across the dimensional sea. The dimensional sea, or a some may called it " hyper space"  the distance that separates worlds from one another. It was a chaotic and impossible space to navigate, one where time and space were in shambles. It was in this chaos that AL-Hazard would fabricates " safe passages"  that would resist the turbulent effects of the dimensional sea, allowing travel by ships. With this innovation, more worlds were capable of reaching to one another due to this safer travelling method.

With all this techonology and its achivement in subduing the rampaging sea, Al-Hazard was meant to be the uncontested ruler of the cosmos for eternity....

Yet it was not to be.

One day, in a event that would simply be called "  the disaster"  the civilisation of Al-Hazard would suddenly vanishe off the face of existence, its location forever lost to the depths of the dimensions. Its disappearances would later cause calamities on countless worlds as relics from AL-Hazard would go out of control and cause unfathomable havoc on numerous worlds. Many worlds would suffer so much damage that they would end up destroyed.

With the fall of the previous sovereign of the dimensions, many worlds which survived the distaster would soon go into a conflict for rulership of the cosmos. The acquiring of the lost relics of the ancient civilisation would be a common recurrence in those armed conflicts between civilisations.

Amongst the participants, one would like AL-Hazard once did prove to be greater than any of its rivals.

The name of that world and its civilisation..

Was Belka.

A world that now only exist in history.

Chapter Text

Ancient Belka.

Or just Belka.

T'was the name of the civilisation as well as the homeworld of the political entity that would become the dominant force in the multiverse now devoid of the presence of Al-Hazard.

Using mass-produced weapons what was a small country on Belka's soils would rapidly expand by conquering its neighbours. Soon more and more countries would be assimilated into the ever expending Belkan empire. Eventually, the whole globe became under one rule. With the whole planet under one dominion, the empire turn its gaze to the stars. Using what technology uncovered from renmmants of Al-hazard's collapse, the Belkans began their first fray into the dimensional sea.

With the fall of Al-Hazard, many safe routes were lost, navigating through it, while not impossible, proved to still be a dangerous endeavour. 

Slowly but surely, Belka would go on to claim many worlds, some willing joined Belka wanting to escape the horrible condition brought by the disaster, others refused and were brought down by military arms. Over the course of centuries, what used to once be a faction in control of a single world had expanded to included hundreds if not more of worlds under its rule.

The success of thoses military campaigns can be attribute to the developpement of a new magic system carrying the name of its birthplace. The main users of this system were called Belkan knights. The knights were the primary arm of the Belkan empire, powerful mages who combine the ability to cast spells and high physical enchancement due to training and using thie rown mana to boost their attributs even further. The mightiest amongst them had the strength comparable or even greater than entire armies of lesser mages. The most powerful amongst them were given items to assist them in combat via direct time. Those items were called ” devices”. Theses magical items were able to process magic faster and help its users cast spells. Those use by knights were called ” armed devices” and were specifically geared for combat. Each device also came with a artificial intelligence built into it that served as a partner to their wielders, always by their side.

With so many world under its rule and thanks to technological outflows from Al-Hazard, great scientific breakthrough happened. The most notable being in genetics and the manipulation of life itself. Amongst this particular branche was the two most noteworthy achievements was the very modification of human biology and artificial beings.

The advancement in the modification of the human body was quickly put to use in warfare, both on a tactical level and on a strategic level. Many warriors on all side submitted to having their very internal body be experimented on to gain greater power. While not all case were successful, some even lethal, those that survived rapidly became the most feared comvattants on the many battlefields. With attributs obtained such as greater physical power than any normal mage, more diverse ability to manipulate mana that is impossible for any other mages or even the ability to heal from mortal wounds, becoming almost unkillable in the process.

But the pinacle of genetic advancement was the ” genetic memory transmission” technologie. Using the highest cutting-edge scientific advancement, a person descendant could gain access to their ancestors full memories of life and most importantly battle experience and their unique abilities. Those who were descended from the first people to use this technology could gain access to hundreds of years of memories stored in their brains, spanning back multiple generations. 

The firsts to received those modifications on their bloodlines were the mighty rulers of ancient Belka: The Saint Kaisers.

With bodies modified at birth, the children of this line would grow up to become magical titans even amongst the many, many magic users in Belka's golden age.

For a millenium this period known as ” the warring ages” would be constant periode of exploration mixed with warfare. Until finally after centuries of conflicts, the expansion of Belka grew to a halt and the Saint kings had achieved a orderly peace built on countless battlefields. The golden age was marked with the discovery of the most prized artifact in Belkan history: The Saint Cradle.

The Saint Cradle.

Thought it is associated to Belka, its design and architecture suggest it was most likely a relic hailling from the legendary civlization of Al-Hazard itself.

The Cradle was said to be a vessel of gargantual proportions, easily several kilometers long in lenght. Its discovery was seen as a milestone of the conquest of its era and it became the symbol of the Belkan royal family.

With the end of the warring ages, the vast majority of the known world was under the old Belkan empire control. Peace would happen at long last after all those struggles...

Until a mere century later, yet another cataclysme would happen, that would once again shake the dimensonal core of the cosmos.

The homeworld of Belka...

Would vanish in a dimensional quake, forever out of reach.

Even today sages and philosophers are unsure why this happened. A after shock of the disaster? A secret relic went out of control and doomed the whole of Belka? Or maybe the worst of all, just bad luck. Some anti Belkans even claimed that it was divine punishment upon the Belkan for their hubris in attempting to elevates itself to the level of gods. Regardless, the one undeniable truth was simple: the planet Belka was forever lost and now only existed in memories.

With the lost of their homeworld, the grip the empire had on its many conquered territories would soon slip. Eventually, many worlds rised up across the empire, shattering its unity and bringing an end to the massive empire of Belka, that had only enjoyed a mere century of peace.

What remainded of the royal family boarded the Cradle, which would now become the main home of the future generations of saint kaisers, hence were the ship name came from. To prevent its bloddline extinction, many powerful bloddlines form across the worlds still loyal were transported to the cradle so that they may now lived in the ship. the future childrens of those families would be born within the depths of the cradle's massive engines.

With their empire shattered into many pieces each fighting amongst themselves and many uniting against their former overlords a new phase would begin in the history of Belka.

The Saint Kings Unification War.

Chapter Text

The saint kings unification war.

With the fall of their homeworld they decided to use the cradle as their new base of opérations to wage war on their former subjects. It was because of that the vessel would later be named as such. Rediscovering previously unknown systems within the ship, the cradle had now become a weapon of war. Capable of bringing ruin to entire worlds from orbit by channeling the mana of nearby celestial objects to power its systems.

However, to use the cradle required that the current saint kaiser to merge with its system to operate it for a brief time. The cost would be their very own lifeforce. Thus the usage of the cradle would be use a handful of time during this age.

From the ashes of the old Belkan empire would emerge its successor state: the saint kings alliance. Composed of the kaiser surviving members and the few who had maintained their loyalty to the royal family.

For the next several centuries periodes of war followed by those of peace would be the norm.

It is in this era that the most famous of legends would be born, from all over the dimensions.

Dalgrün, the thunder emperor: famous for being one of the few combat mage who had ever defeat and kill a saint kaiser in one-on-one combat. His territory would withstand countless invasions by the alliance who would only be force to sign a treaty of peace during his lifetime. Making him one of a handful in history to have successfully claimed to have defeated the saint kings alliance and brought a golden age to their world.

Ixpellia, the dark king of the Galea empire: of the many names in that era, few brought as much terror as that of Ixpellia. Many countries and worlds were conquered by Galean might thanks to the Mariages. Powerful cybernetic humanoid monstrosities that could shape their very bodies into weapons. The mirage could be created from the corpse of fallen combattants, growing bigger and bigger with each bloodbath. The empire was such a threat that the cradle had to be deployed to stop their advance. It would result in the vessel sleeping underground for centuries until the end of the war. Though Galea had fallen, prophecies stated, that one day, Ixpellia would return to bring carnage on the worlds.

The book of darkness: An artifact, that was once meant to gather and contained knowledge from across the many worlds. Its inner systems would be corrupted by individuals who sought out its power. Through the next centuries the book would appear at random in various world, attached itself to a master before eventually draining its users life and consumming the very world it came on before returning to heal in a pocket dimension and redoing the same process, over and over again.

Lastly, Olivie Sägebrecht, " the queen second to none in combat", "the lady knight of Shutra" but most importantly, the last saint kaiser: Olivie was a daughter born from the Sägebrecht clan, one of the many bloodlines that made up the royal family. Born with a frail body, being one of countless children and after a accident that cost Olivie her arms she was never considered a candidate to the throne. Sent as a political hostage to the kingdom of Suthra were she would meet another famous figure of that time, Claus Ingvalt " the hegemon". Alongside her other companions such as Wilfred Jeremiah and Crozelg the witch of the woods, Olivie would bare witness to the final decade of the unification war as many once loyal vassals would turn against the kaisers. Motivate by a desire to end this eternal conflict, she would go through the ceremony to find her near-perfect synchronisation raté with the cradle and be immediately crowned Saint King to the suprise of everyone. As the final inheritor of the royal family main title, build upon generations and generations, Olivie was undoutebly the strongest warrior in all of Belkan history, a king amongs saint kings even. It was her sacrifice by using the cradle that finally ended the centuries long conflict, and the title of saint kaiser. With her death, finally came a end of the warfare of Belka as well as its age.

Paving the way for a new dawn.

Finally there is me...

I dont remember my...origins.

No.

I cannot remember why exactly...

All i know is that everything i touch breaks.

A great darkness that is unbreakable consummes what i touch, what i see, what i want.

Hope most of all.

Why? 

That is my most pressing thought.

Why does it happen?

Everytime someone tried to interact with me, to use me. I inevitably break them and their whole world.

Everytime this happens i come back here, in this void. 

A curse cycle that not even death can give me a way out.

The only things i know for sure about myself is the book i carry: the tome of the purple sky and most importantly my name.

Yuri.

Yuri Eberwein.

What is this darkness that always follow me?

Why does it do so?

Why am i destined to bring destruction when i cannot even remember my roots?

...why?..

Silence.

Only silence is heard 

The girl simply sigh in resignation, waiting for when she will come upon another world. Ironic, she wants to get out of this emptiness, yet she knows what doom she will bring if that happens.

"Perhaps it will be better if i just stay here and dont cause trouble to anyone" says the girl in a whisper.

There is only nothingness around her, nothing more than-

"Uh?"

She "peeks up".

Is that...

Light?

Radiance.. in this void?

That..never happened before.

" What... is going.. on?" says the girl now confused.

As she now dives into the light she suddenly feels a immense force suddenly trying to restraint her.

The girl gasp. This never once happened! Usually as she remembers she vanish by herself to appear in a world. Now it seems like she was struggling to get through a shield of sort that was trying to prevent her from continuing further.

" What is this!? This feeling... its clearly like a barrier! But beyond that i can feel.... a world ?"

This was unlike anything she had felt before. This world she was heading to. It was.. "isolated" for a lack of a better term. There were some sorts of dimensional barriers preventing this world from being entered from "outside". 

And now this force, was trying to push her back. Alas she could not deviate from her trajectory, causing a conflict of two forces trying to stop one another.

"Uuuughh...!"  The girl was in pain, it was as if the very nature of this plane was rejecting her existence.

It hurts! It hurts! I... have no other choice if i want to stop the pain i have to conjured the greatest barrier i can think of!

Channeling all of her mana, the girl forms a sphere around her to protected her from the "light". As she goes further and further into the light. Her senses tells her that she had come upon a most unique world. A world whose very own dimensions were altered.

But more than that she could feel that the world was govern by a immense will, one she could not comprehend properly.

" What have i gotten myself into?" She muses until a cracking sound catches her ears.

All around her, cracks within her sphere were showing causing her to panic. If it were to break now, there is no telling what would happen!

Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! She repeats over in her head as she tries to pull all of her strength into preventing the sphere from breaking apart.

Unknown to her, as she struggles, dark energy began to manifeste out of her.

As the sphere breaks, she closes her eyes, waiting for the light to swallow her. Unknown to her its at this moment that the darkness coming from her clash with the light.

In a instant, a massive shockwace of light and dark erupted.

This clash being the last thing the girl sees before falling unconscious.

In a space outside the boundaries of the world known as "Zemuria " a figure stirrs.

"This feeling... is this perhaps the will of the goddess or.." the figure stops contemplating and decides to take action.

"Campanella. Summon all the anguis at once. There is much to discuss."

Chapter Text

The celestial globe.

A place away from zemuria yet still capable of observing it.

It is here that the meetings of the society grandmaster and her trusted subordinates: the 7 anguis, take place. Where all the planifications for ouroboros ultimate goal: the orpheus final plan, are drafted.

"Oh man. To think we meet again after so long. I could cry tears of joy at this most heartwarming reunion~~."

Oddly, only 6 of the seven anguis seemed to be present. The 7th person being not an anguis themselves.

" Must i remind you Campanella that it has only being less than a year? It is rare for us to have two meetings within the timeframe of a single year" said a calm and collected voice coming from a white sphere that stood at the center of the room.

" You should learn to take a joke First. You are after all the longest serving member of us aside from him. Thought you got use to it by now." 

"....."

"Oyaoya. It appears that neither the fifth anguis or zero enforcer can make you laugh. But, then again you always were a party pooper." So says a sarcastic voice who also seems laid back.

" Ohohohoho! My you never hold your tongue Harwood. Even in this most sacred place. You truly have no filter do you?" 

" Hey now, i am the oathbreaker, gotta live up to the title after all... Besides, speaking of having restraints, you seem to have as much as your predecessor did. Which was a big fat zero."

"  Touche ~ Well what can i say? Passion is my forte. Having restraints seems useless if it gets in the way. Dont you agree professor?"

" Indeed. To fufill my research, there cannot be any restrictions place upon my experiments. Otherwise, how can i achieve the desire results?"

"Heyhey.. seems like you are all in high spirits. What of you steel? You havent said anything since you came."

From the last orb came a soft feminime voice, it was gentle but also possesses a deep conviction within. " I am fine Campanella. Though i  must admit i am quite curious about what exactly the grandmaster summoned us for." This was the seventh anguis of ouroboros. Said to be the strongest fighter in the whole organisation ( a certain demonic enforcer notwithstanding) 

Arianrhod, the steel maiden.

" What can i say. The grandmaster's vision and knowledge is beyond any of us. I too am curious to hear the reason behind this sudden meeting." His voice then change to a whisper, " though... maybe it has to do with what i felt earlier... Oh well! We just have to put our trust in the grandmaster, as we've always done. Even if some of us decide to go on their own."

Everyone knew who Campanella was talking about. The missing anguis, the second one: Vita Clotilde the azure abyss. A witch from the hexen clan who was put in charge of the phantasmal blaze plan.

Only to fail in her task.

" Though the absence of the azure abyss is regrettable, i have no doubt she will be aware of what will transpire here. She is after all a most formidable woman and her mastery of the arcane arts is undeniable." Says the calm voice of the first.

" Still, must have been quite the blow to her ego to lose to a guy who was dead. Cant blame her for not agreeing to our next move since we joined forces with that very same guy who cheated death."

"This was not an easy thing for her to be outvoted 6 to 1. Especially, after what happened to her and the lost of her familiar. You should take that into account thousand oathbreaker." Said Arianrhod in a cool voice, that nonetheless had a slight edge to it directed to her fellow anguis.

" Yeah, yeah i know, i know. But then again taking peoples feelings into account was nev-"

" It seems all those who could come have gathered."

Any talk was quickly silence as at long last the grandmaster arrives to adress her followers.

" Youve assemble them quickly Campanella. You have my gratitude."

"Not at all grandmaster. Your everywish is my command." So says Campanella the fool, without any trace of sarcasm in his tone while adressing her.

" I have gather all of you here, for a most unexpected event has transpired."

An unexpected event? That was unheard of. The anguis knew that the grandmaster was someone who was never fazed. Even the lost of the phantasmal blaze plan hadn't bothered her.

" A anomaly from the beyond has just landed in Zemuria."

As the grandmaster finish the sentence, the anguis were in shock. An anomaly. From beyond the world had just entered the realm of aidios? Such a thing had happened less than a handful of time!

Campanella, though suprise was more contemplative than anything, as if it was something he had a feeling of but was now confirmed.

" Truly!? Oh, this must be the reason for the sudden readings my equipements picked up! To think that a phenomenon from the beyond entered this world. I must absolutely go out and analyse it!" 

" Professor, do calm yourself. The grandmaster isn't finish talking. The same to you Mariabell." Asked the first anguis in a attempt to focus his collegues attention back to the matter at hand.

" This 'outsider', while i cannot fully say everything about it. I can at the very least say that it posseses great power and a great darkness as well." So says the grandmaster as the anguis and Campanella listen attentelly to this information.

"As for where the foreign existence landed. Its landing spot is none other than the province of Legram, in Erebonia."

" Legram eh? Isnt that were our illustrious  steel maiden comes from. My it sure must be fate that it landed there." So had said the third anguis.

" That place is now under the rulership of the line of Sion Arseid. I have long since relinquish my claim to that land." Spoke arianrhod, " though if it has landed there, it is sure to attract the attention of the arseid and the imperial gouvernement."

"Oh i wouldnt be too worried about that. After all this could be a great time to put to use our new Archaisms, though im not finish on the Aions. Nevertheless, i would be honored if you allow me grandmaster to take care of this. After all, having personal interactions with a entity from the beyond will greatly advance my research as well."

" Research this. Research that. Thats your answer to everything inst it old man?" Said the fifth anguis in a exasperated tone.

" That is enough, fifth and sixth. The decision concerning this unique matter falls to our grandmaster herself".

The two anguis decided to back down after being reminded by the first about who is ultimately deciding the course of action.

As the anguis were now silent, the Grandmaster was also in thoughts. After a few more moments of silence. She finally announce her décision.

"Arianrhod, i can tell you wish to go. Do you accept this task of investigating this anomaly ?"

Without missing a beat Arianrhod respond, " Yes. Though i no longer have any rights to legram. That place used to be my home long ago. I bear precious memories of legram and if this anomaly would bring ruin to it then it is my responsibility to investigate the situation. You have my utmost thanks for your generosity Grandmaster."

"Take heed Arianrhod. This existence from the beyond, its capabilities are unknown to myself. It would be wise to be on guard against it. All i can say is that at the very least a deep darkness is within it." Warns the grandmaster to the seventh anguis.

" Noted. I shall gather the stalhritters, i have no doubt that whatever this anomaly is will not withstand our combine might." Declared Arianrhod, though it seemed less of a boast and more of a simple fact.

" Then make haste. The more time passes the more the risk of a calamity brought by this entity is higher. May the goddess favor you and your subordinates"

With that the sphere that was representing Arianrhod vanish leaving only the five anguis, the lone enforcer and the Grandmaster in the globe.

" Heheheh... dutiful and reliable to a fault. Just like her." Muses Campanella.

"Indeed. As for the rest of you. Carry on your assigned duties. The time is nigh for the continuation of the phantasmal blaze plan. Be on watch should anything happen in Legram. This meeting is adjourned'

And with that final declaration all spheres vanish, as their speakers resumed their activities. Campanella simply bowed his head before snapping his fingers and vanishing, leaving the Grandmaster alone to her thoughts as she wonders about the change that this being from the beyond might bring to Zemuria.

Chapter Text

" Uuurrgh. Of course it just HAD to be where the Arseids resides..." grumbles a young woman in armor as she looks over to the city of Legram.

" Come now Duvalie. The Arseid familly are famous for their skills in the path of the sword. They are worthy opponents that deserves respect."  Responded a taller woman, outfitted with armor similar to the grumpy girl. The most distinct feature being her long red hair tie in a ponytail and the giant halberd she is carrying on her back.

"Huhuhu... Or maybe our little head knight is still feeling rather sore from losing to the Arseid girl two years ago?" Spoke another armored girl in a mischevious tone towards the grumbling girl who was their leader. In contrast to her red-haired companion she had blue hair and was wielding a bow. 

"!!! Wh- what are you saying Ennea, Ines?!"  The short brown haired girl, now getting up in a quick motion, was having a expression of surprise that soon turn into denial. " For the last time. I did NOT LOSE against that novice and her comrades!!! In fact, i was on the brink of victory until that annoying debaucherous prince and that B-rank bracer interfered! Mark my words! I have been keeping up my training and next time i face the arseid or the ashen awakener, i shall prevail! On my honor as a Stahlritter!" Loudly proclaimes the final of the trio of knights. This one appearing to be armed with a classic sword-and-shield combination. Giving off the appearance of what a knight from the old days would look like, in spite of her short temper. 

The two other knights both simply had faces of berwildeness follow by teasing expression as their young leader began one of her long rant of her pride and honor. Not far, standing of the edge of the cliff overlooking the viscounty was one last figure. A figure also clad in armor, bulkier than her fellow knights. She had long golden hair and deep blue eyes. If beauty and integrity had a personification, it would be her. She was wearing a small smile towards the ruckus caused by her subordinates. Though Ines and Ennea would at times tease Duvalie, this did nothing to harm the deep bond those three had towards one another. It reminded her of days gone by, how some of her eisenritter would bicker with their brothers and sisters in arms before the battle begin. Truly, she had indeed been bless by Aidios to have those three loyal knights with her in those turbulent days.

Her smile then slowly faded as she adopt a neutral but focus expression as she turns from the ruckus towards the sight of what once was her ancestral home. 

Legram. Part of the Kreuzen province, one of four province that make up the majority of the greatest country in all of Zemuria. The empire of Erebonia. An empire whose history was marred by conflict and blood. More so than any other countries in the contienent. While some may think of it as just the logical conclusion of a people whose culture heavily emphatise the military arts, the true was much more sinister. Arianrhod was one of the few who knew about the truth behind erebonia's bloody history.

" It has been a long time since last i set my eyes on my old domain. No, a few years ago those childrens of Thors were here. In the end i had to assist them from the shadows. I wonder... How much has he grown since the end of the infernal castle two years ago?"  Arianrhod thought as she now focuses her eyes on the city town of Legram.

While Legram was never the most impressive city in the world, let alone the empire. Its historical value meant that is was still among the most well known cities in the empire. Many would come here either to learn about the Arseid school or to pay respect to the historical figure of this place. Saint Lianne Sandlot, the lance maiden.

" Saint. A title usually given to those who had passed on from this world. Yet here am i, still walking this world centuries after my " death" . Then again, i never gave much thoughts to being called a saint by other people."  She never chose to be called a saint, at her core she was a knight, who had a duty to fulfilled. Even the person whose loyalty she once swear to had long since left this world, her duty had remained unchanged. That duty's ultimatum was coming closer and closer by the day.

As she look over Legram she noticed that there appears to be more provincial guard than it usually is. More than likely it seems that the anomaly landing must have caused quite a disturbance in the area. Even the wild monsters were more frequent, possibly as a side effect of a arrival from the beyond no doubt.

Speaking of side effects. She had to check something.

" Argreion? Do you feel anything in particular?"  

" YES LIANNE THE SPIRIT VEINS IN THE ENTIRE PROVINCE ARE IN DISSARAY WHATEVER FELL HAS DESTABILIZE THE FLOW OF MANA I CAN ALSO SENSE THAT THE MANA IN THIS PARTICUAL REGION CENTERED AROUND LEGRAM IS IN FACT BEING DIRECTED TOWARDS THE SITE OF THE ANOMALY'S LANDING"   

" And that location being?"  She had an inkling of were it would be. After all the atmosphere was pointing towards another particular location in Legram. A old castle that was now the subject of her gaze. This castle was across the lake, seperating it from Legram.

" LOHENGRIN CASTLE OUR ANCIENT BASE OF OPERATION DURING THE WAR OF THE LIONS"  confirmed Argreion.

"...."  Arianrhod was silently taking in this new piece of information. Though she for the most part had leave behind her old life all those years ago it would be a lie to deny that she didn't had any nostalgic feelings for this abandonned castle.

It was where she would trained when she was young.

It was where she and an old friend of hers had discovered her divine knight, Argreion.

It was where she and her former band of knights, the eisenritters would gather during the war all those years ago.

But more than that, it was also where she and him promised one another that they would live with one another after the war ended.

A promise that was broken.

Arianrhod lightly shakes her head. That was long ago, now this entity from the beyond threaten to ruin her ancestral home. As her pride as a knight she would not allow that to happen. " Thank you Argreion. Be ready, if anything dangerous were to happen i might have to call upon your power." 

" AFFIRMATIVE LIANNE MAY THE GODDESS WATCH OVER YOU"  responded Argreion before becoming silent once again. She was still one of the only beings that called her by heir old name. No doubt due to having known her since she was still a young woman. 

After a moment of silence, she then put on her helmet and turns around to talk to her knights who seemed to have calm down if Duvalie's relaxe expression was anything to say.

"My lord!"  The three kneel before her as she approches them. " Is it time to move out?"  asked Duvalie.

" Indeed. The only logical place of the crash of the anomaly is more than certainly Lohengrin castle" The three knights were suprised at the location's that was revealed. " It appears that the provincial army is currently focused on calming the panic in Legram. We shall teleport to the entrance of the old castle and find the anomaly."  She says in a calm and experience tone. " We move at once, Duvalie, Ines, Ennea." 

"Yes my lord!"  choruses the three knights. As yellow circles appears beneath the four figures before they vanish from sight.

Unknown to them however, was that they were being observed all this time by what appears to be a floating black orb with red lines. This orb was watching their actvities from above in the sky remaining undetected. After the four vanish, the orb change its course and began to hover towards the castle across the lake.

With the teleportation completed, Arianrhod and her loyal stalhritters were now at the gates of Lohengrim. They seemed to have been broken down, viewing the damage it appeared to have been the work of crazed monsters drawn towards the convergence of mana.

" Be on guard. There will certainly be creatures fouler than any common monsters as we head deeper into the castle. With all the higher elements in chaos, anything could happen. " Warns Arianrhod.

"Right!" respond the stalhritters as one, each drawing their weapons. Arianrhod instead does not drawn but instead summons forth into her hand a massive lance. This lance might at first glance simply be a huge lance that she could somehow wield one-handed but it was in fact a divergent weapon. Items crafted by the Grandmaster herself, there are no weapons mightier than those. For they can defy even the laws of the goddess. Whatever this mysterious presence that entered Zemuria was, this lance will be most useful against it.

Arianrhod took lead, being her former home she was well aware of any paths or traps that could-

jemand

Arianrhod suddenly stops, just before she was preparing to take the first step into the castle.

What.

Whose voice was that?

Bitte

Again that voice.

Arianrhod was now a little suprise by what she was hearing. It was like a voice was whispering directly into her head. It certainly wasn't Argreion. The voice sounded like that..

Of a child.

And it seemed like it was..

Pleading?

" My lord? Is..everything all right?" gently ask Duvalie, as her and the other two members were wondering why their lord just stop in their motion.

" ... Nothing. You needn't worry Duvalie. I was just.. feeling nostalgic setting foot in here after so long... Lets us go and stay vigilant."

The stalhritters seemed reassure by this and begin to follow their master as she passes throught the broken doors into the castle. A part of her still wondering what the voice was and if it may have a connection to the anomaly...

Chapter Text

The air of Lohengrin was oddly familiar yet new at the same time. 

Familiar in the sense that this was a place she could call home.

New for the fact that she had wandered the whole of Zemuria since her ressurection, leaving this ancestral place to its own device. Having saved the childrens of Thor's a while back made it a rare occassion for her to come to this place.

Altought, if the boy wasn't part of the group that came to Legram, she might have not had come to their aid in the first place. She remember how he looked, blue hair just like his late birth mother yet having inherited some of his father's facial feature and personnal tics. On a more important note, she could also feel his inner turmoi which were worsen by the curse that was put on him ever since that day.

There was also yet another reason, thought Arianrhod, that made the general presence of her former home alien to her. 

The anomaly and its passive effects its landing had on the location.

The air feels heavier, mana particules from the veins could even be seen at the naked eye. Of course there also was a third and much more important factor that made Lohengrin ruins a bit less relaxing. 

Namely the presence of monsters that were drawn to this location. Nicely represented in the 10 foot tall beast with teeths sharper than any common sword attempting to bite into her. 

As the lion-looking monster aimed for her neck, she simply moves to the side dodging its toothy maw. As the beast, enrage by its meal refusing to stand still, shifts its body to slash at her with its claws she puts up her lance.

CLANK!

The sound of metallic impact as the creatures stumbles back from the guard while Arianrhod hadn't move an inch. With the creature now off balance she take a stance, pulls back her lance with her right arm and dashes at incredible speed. Aiming the tip of her weapon at its heart.

There was no resistance as its flesh was effortlessly pierced through by the lance. It drawns its last breath before it expires, vanishing into small mana particules.

＂Odd＂ She thought. ＂Though a big specimen of this type of creature poses no threat to me. It appeared to have been enchanced by the large mana gathering here... Could it be?＂ Muse silently the steel maiden. It appears that on top of attracting all kinds of monsters to this place, whatever landed had also accidentally made them more powerful due to all the mana leaking.

The sound of steel clashing against flesh was still heard in the room as the three knights of the stalhritters were mooping up whatever remained of the pack of creatures that had tried to ambushed them some time after wandering into the halls of the castle.

Duvalie, Ines and Ennea were done with their own battle and were now sheating their weapons. From the looks of it, they didn't seemed to have had any trouble whatsoever.

Not that Arianrhod needed to be worry for her knights, after all they no longer were children or novices. To treat them like such even still would be insulting to their honor as knights but more importantly as her subordinates. 

＂As expected of you my lord... That pack leader proved to be nothing more small distraction to you.＂Praised Duvalie to Arianrhod. No matter how much time passes she would always keep that same attitude towards her. Granted, sometimes she could... get a little overenthusiastic. But there are no other she would have as head knight of the stalhritter.

＂I take it you all have notice some slight differences in the monsters here?＂They all nod. ＂Though those creatures are relatively weak, there is not guarantee that things will remained so simple as we grow closer and closer to the anomaly. There might most likely even be the appearances of cryptids due to the instabilities caused by the crash. Remain on guard the three of you.＂

＂Understood＂Said the stalhritters before following their lord deeper into the castle.

As the group continued walking towards the landing site of the anomaly, the three stalhirtters were a bit behind their lord in distance as they were standing closely to one another.

＂Say. Don't you think our lord has been acting a bit...strange?＂Questionned Ennea in a low whisper to her comrades.

＂Ah so you noticed too.＂Answered Ines confirming Ennea's thoughts. ＂It may be impossbile for normal people, but after all those years we fought alongside her we can tell that something is off about her.＂

＂Indeed. She seems distracted ever since we started to enter the castle. The fact that she suddenly stop for a small moment in the middle of entering makes me thing that she felt something off. After all, lady Lianne isn't the type of person who would doubt or hesitate herself in the middle of a mission, especially one so imporant as this one.＂ Guessed Duvalie, after taking into consideration her comrades words. She was the oldest serving member of the stalhritter, despite being the youngest. While she can't claim to know everything about her lord, she can confidently say that she has a better insight into her than most members of ouroboros, save for perhaps the anguis or the grandmaster. She was after all her savior and idol, who taught her everything that made her what she is.

＂She wouldn't want use to worry about her though.＂ Said Ines, her eyes focusing partially on their master who was still walking in front of the three a bit far away.＂After all, are we not her swords and shields? To express concern about herself would be laughable considering who our great lord is after all. I am sure that this little concern of hers is something that will go away as soon as we dealt with whatever has befallen this ancient home.＂

There was truth in Ines words though Duvalie and Innea. She was Lianne Sandlot, the lance maiden and possbly the greatest warriori in all of Zemuria. She would't be the type to express her concern, if she had any on anyone, she was someone who could overcome any obstacles, with or without their help.

＂Maybe you're right...＂Sighted Ennea.＂Past life or not this use to be her home. I'm guessing that this became a matter of personnal pride to her, hearing that the entity from beyond  the world crash upon her old domain. She must at the very least be considering this a matter of personnal affront to her honor as a knight.＂

＂That could explain it...＂Duvalie muses before lightly shaking her head.＂Ah, Well, nevermind all that. We should keep quiet. There no gurantee our illustrious lord did not hear us. It would be most distracting for her to hear us being worried.＂Said Duvalie in a flustered tone before adopting a firm face and speaking again this time in a devoted voice. ＂Whatever happens here, she remains and always will be our lord and its our duty as her knights to support her in this task. She trusted us to accompany her and we must not let this  trusted be misplace.＂Finish Duvalie, resulting in her fellow knights nodding before resuming the walk quietly.

＂Still. An entity from the beyond? Until now i've never really thought or heard about creatures that came from beyond the borders of Zemuria. Unless you count demon or angels. There isn't suppose to be anything but this world crafted bt the goddess herself. ...I suppose the almighty conflegation could count as one. He never struck me as a normal existence even compare to my lord to say nothing of the grandmaster other that all the anguis revere her, despite being themselves formidable individuals. Just what exactly is this entity landed her? I shoudn't, but i can't help but be worried a bit...＂ Thought Duvalie after taking in all that was brief about their mission.

She cannot deny that she has a feeling that whatever happens here will be a most unique experience.

As the stalhritters were finish conversing among themselves, their lord was still in front a few arge away from them, lost in her own thoughts.

A part of her was glad that the three were showing concern for her but she was also a bit perplex that they were able to tell that she was acting a little off ever since they've entered Lohengrin. True one could be blame it on all the change in atmosphere in part to the presence of whatever landed here. But then again there was something else, something that still remained in the back of her mind despite her best effort to ignore it and the more they progress further in, the more her head was nagging at what she had heard before stepping into the castle.

It was the voice that she heard.

Though she had only heard maybe a word or two, she could at least tell that this voice was that of young child. A girl most likely. But that was not the only thing that made it surprising to her. 

It was the fact that she swore that the voice was speaking in old erobonian. 

She was well verse in that language, after all it was the main tongue use back in her era. Nowadays, it was replace by the universal language spreaded by the septian church, allowing the communications between people of different nation to be much easier, avoiding many miscomunnications. The only usage of old erebonian as of today was when refering to specific old sites or old historical terms. It was now considered to be a subject of relatively small importnace in today's empire. Only those who are really invested into the sphere of history would be capable of understanding their nation's old tongue. Even then, aside from herself and a handful of others none could possibly speak it with clear natural ease. 

Which just makes the fact that the voice she heard being so fluent in it very confusing to say the least. But there was one more important question in her mind.

Who was the voice exactly?

Could it be related to the anomaly? But if so, why would a entity describe as possesing great darkness by the grandmaster be possessing the voice of a child? The implications of such a thing are...confusing to say the least. 

Just who or what is the anomaly from the beyond?

What does it all mean?

＂Argreion＂

＂YES LIANNE＂

＂Did you detect any sort of obstruction in our link earlier＂

＂INDEED FOR A SPLIT MOMENT A THIRD CONNECTION WAS ESTABLISH BETWEEN YOUR MIND AND ANOTHER I CANNOT ACCURATELY SAY WHAT IS WAS OTHER THAT IT MANAGE TO TEMPORARELY OVERWRITE MY LINK WITH YOURS BEFORE CUTTING OFF AS SOON AS IT WAS ESTABLISH＂ relayed Agreion to her awakener.

＂I see. Was there anything you can tell me about this link?＂

＂THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY IS THAT THIS TELEPATHY WAS THE RESULT OF WHAT APPEARED TO BE SOME SORT OF SYNCHRONISATION OF YOUR MANA WITH OTHER PERSON THOUGH I SHOULD ADD THAT IT DID NOT APPEARED TO BE ORBAL TECH NOR EVEN MAGIC THAT WE KNOWN OF＂ reveal the silver knight to Arianrhod, the last part part surprising her a bit.

＂Magic that we know of?＂ Aside from two of the enforcers, the only magic users she knew were the witches of the clan her old friend Rose was part of. If according to Argreion what happened was indeed magic but not of the type she was familiar with, then that simply raised even more question for her.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she stop her motion, as she was now standing over what looks like a huge hole from which a it seemed like the area where the leylines were starting to converge together. ＂It seems like we are on the right path, Argreion i want you te be ready at all time in case we run into something more dangerous than we expect.＂

＂ACKNOWLEDGED BE CAREFUL LIANNE＂

After ending the link between her and Argreion she turns to Duvalie, Ines and Ennea who halted when she had stop over the hole in floor. ＂All the mana is flowing towards this pit. No doubt it is were we will find the anomaly. Be on your guard, there is little doubt that whatever creatures down there are more foul and threatening than any we face unil now.

With a resoluted right! as a response from her knights, Arianrhod and the stalhritters jumped down the pit. Hoping to find the cause of this phenomenon and end it.

Meanwhile, far away from the events happening at Legram. In a house what appeared to be a small feminime figure was currently watching over what appeared to be some sort of mirror whose black surface was disturbed by many blue lines converging to a single purple dot.

＂Lohengrin castle huh? To think the last time was when that foolish old friend of mine was not even an adult when i guided her to complete the trials. Ah.... and now im the one who doesn't even look like an adult＂ pouted the girl in question.

She recompose herself, taking on a more serious tone.＂Still, to think that right at this moment, in the turning of the ages, a unexpected visitor exempt from the laws of the goddess would make their appearance on this stage already full of actors. I cannot tell if this will bring us fortune or misfortune, after all i still have no idea what this ＂stranger＂ is like or what they are capable of. ＂ She closes her eyes and gives off a tired sigh. ＂With all the leylines of that provence in dissaray and the leylines of the entire empire who just suffered a temporary disturbance as a consequence of that thing's arrival, the many players will quickly investigate this phenomenon. I'm sure the society has already dispatch some of their agents, considering the crash site more than likely their famed ＂Steel maiden＂. She says in a sarcastic tone. ＂The imperial gouvernment, my problematic student and the church should also be scrambling as i speak. Of course, there is no doubt that the same can be say of ＂them＂.

The girl open her eyes and just continues to look at the map in front of her, particularly the purple dot that was the focus of her gaze.

＂i wonder... will you bring us light or plunge us into darkness..＂whispers the girl to herself.

Mana and rocks. Those were what Arianrhod was gazing upon. The drop leaded to what appears to be a series of tunnels beneath lohengrin that not even she had known. Althought on closer inspection, these tunnels were relatively recent, thus implying that some creatures burrowed underneath the castle to head towards the nexus of mana. Speaking of mana...

There were now literally mists of mana in the air, it was a very rare thing to say the least the last times she had seen such focus of mana in the air was during the Azure tree in Crossbell nearly two years ago. No doubt they were about to reach their goal.

After a dozen or so minutes of walking and the occassional monster encounter the 4 women group entered a vast clearing were there was at the other side a small tunnel leading further into the subterranean system. As the four were walking to the center of this large space Arianrhod instinct told her that something was wrong.

＂Draw your weapons, something is coming.＂As she said that her kinghts quickly unsheated their weapons and were now ready for anything, as was Arianrhod herself.

Silence......

Then suddenly appearing out of the mist of mana were creatures, many of them who now surrounded the small group.

CRASH!

All the attention from the four were now focused on the massive four legged creature that now tower over all other beings in the room.

It look like a gigantic quadrupal five-headed snake creature whose body seemed to be compose of solid minerals, with its eyes glowing purple in color. 

It roars ＂ RRROOOOOAAAARRRGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!＂ The entire room shaking, a number of creatures in close proximity now clutching their ears and backing away from the beast who was thrice their size. The stalhritters were standing their ground but were clearly shock by the appearance of such a large creature.

Arianrhod for her part simply look up at the nearly 20 arge tall monster, sizing it up. ＂This feeling. A cryptid? No it may gave off a similar threatening aura, but its actual presence isn't that of a actual cryptid. The work of the anomaly i wonder?＂ 

Seemingly insulted at the lack of fear, the creature five mouths dive towards Arianrhod, hoping to rip her apart. Instead their teeths found no purchase, as the steel maiden jumped out of the way unto its back. It then tried to grab her with its claws only to cathc nothing but air as Arianrhod was now in midair, her lance in her hand before throwing it downward with full force towards the snake-like creature.

CRASH!

A massive shockwave, lifting cloud accomapnied by the screech of the creature in pain filled the room as Arianrhod catches herself on the ground. As the dust continues to linger, a shadow emerges at high speed towards her. She quickly summons back her lance and block the full blunt strike of one of the very angry heads. The strike actually pushing her back, she mustered her strength to shove the head back before piercing it with her lance and ripping it from its neck before throwing away. With the surpise attack fail, the dust settles to shown that the creature while injured was mostly still intact, minus one head.

Arianrhod was a little surprise. That strike should had gravely injured the creature yet, while it was no unharmed it seemed in better shape than expected and fully ready to fight and avenge its lost head.

＂Stalhirtters! I shall deal with this abomination. I trust you to take care of the rest.＂ She ordered, intenting on settling this fight one-on-one.

＂Yes my lord.＂ Resolutely said the stalhirtters without missing a beat as they now focuse on the smaller creatures.

With the rest of the beast and the stalhritters busy fighting each other, the hydra like monster roar in the direction of the seventh anguis, seemingly accepting her challenge. Instead of attacking with its heads as Arianrhod expected its now cut off neck was shaking violently. Its was rapidly thrasing left and right before suddenly. out of the wounds burst out not one but now two heads. All two now looking ready to tear into whatever angered it.

Arianrhod was a bit shock to say the least. Such regenerative capabilities was unheard of amongst the many creatures she had faced over the years. Her thinking came to a swift end when the now six headed monster charge at her with full ferocity. Again she dodge the attack before charing up her lance with lightning.

＂Take this!!!＂

She swings her lance in a wide arc targeting the 6 heads of the creature, the sheer combination of strength and lightning combined allowed the arc to strike through multiples heads but alas the sheer mass cut throught slowed down the strike leaving 2 heads still standing. Seeing that her attack didnt fully work Arianrhod jumped back. As she did she notice on the corner of her eyes the creature tail, swipping at her. She raise her lance to absorb the blow but the sheer strenght added to the fact that she was in the iar and had no ground to maintain her position meant that the blow knock her away towards one of the walls at high speed. 

CRASH!

The impact would have most certainly crush the bones of any normal human. Thankfully, the steel maiden wasn't any human. As she fell to the ground catching herself by landing firmly on the terrain. She decided to up the ante and raise her lance to the air before shouting out ＂Fall to ruin!!＂ Immediately out of nowhere in this undergound area a powerful bolt of lightning struck the creature, shocking it painfully. With the creature now distracted by its current situation she then rears back her lance and in a instant through a burst of speed dive towards the creatures striking at its chest.

KRACKKKK!!!

Managing to pierce through the creature and landing quite a few arges from it she immediately turns back to see the creature status.

It had now lost its left limbs and was now crawling on the ground and seemed to be suffering the aftereffects of the lightning bolt. However, it was then that the 4 necks whose head were cut off now were also shaking again. In a explosion of strange liquids emerges more heads. The creature had now not 6 but 10 heads that were now roaring in her direction promising brutal retribution for her action.

Instead of rushing in, the creature instead suprised Arianrhod yet again, by spreading its heads in 10 directions, like forming some sort of geometrical shape. It was then that the mana particules which were all across the room, began to converge towards the creature. In the center area of the shape its heads were making, a small sphere of purple blue mana was getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Arianrhod without a second to waste, rush towards the creature before it can unleash its attack.

Too late.

The sphere in a second suddenly diminishes... before instantly getting bigger and a massive beam of pure mana blast into the dashing form of Arianrhod.

KABOOMMMM!!!!!

A massive explosion rocks the entire cavern, light temporarely blinding everyone in the cave. the light dies down and a utterly huge cloud of dust is now were Arianrhod once stood,

＂MY LORD!!!!＂ Screamed Duvalie, with Ines and Ennea also staring in shock at what happened.

The Hydra, seemingly satisfied turn towards its remaining preys who had just finished killing the rest of the creatures and were starring at it in fear and anger. Now that the annoying lightning user was vaporise it was going to-

＂I am Steel..＂

The creature heads instantly turns towards the direction of the cloud of dust. Seeing the shadow of a figure standing inside of it.

＂She who cuts through all!!＂

The cloud immediately disperse as a massive aura now surrounds the form of Ariandrhod. The only hint of damage being a slight crack in her helmet. 

Arianrhod takes a deep breath and closes her eyes... before opening them and giving a fierce glare towards the hydra who was now reeling back from the sheer aura coming from her. Before the hydra could take any action, its heads were suddenly immobilized by what appeared to be giant cross.

With her foe now restrained the steel maiden now was given free reign to unleash her attack. This one was not made to cut or to shock her opponents.

It was made to utterly anihilated any trace of them.

＂GRAND CROSS!!!!!!＂

With a unfathomed amount of power behind the thrust of her lance, the steel maiden pierce throught the entire body of the gigantic creature with the sheer raw power absolutely erasing any parts of it as a massive shockwave, shakes the room a second time, even more furiously.

.......

Silence fills the room as Arianrhod stands strong, as the last remnants of the creature now vanish into nothing.

＂My lord!!!＂ Duvalie and the other rushes to her side. The worry evident on their faces. ＂Are you injured?! Oh we were so scared tha-that that creature had-＂

＂ I am fine Duvalie. Aside from a bit of exhaustion and a slight crack on my helmet, i am fine＂ Reassured Arianrhod in a calm voice.

＂I-I.. I know my lord but... its just that..＂ Duvalie seemed to be unable to continue to speak and was just taking deep breaths to calm herself.

＂Mhmhmhmh. Little Duvalie really cares about you lady Arianrhod. You have to forgive her for fearing the worst for a second.＂Said Ennea in a teasing tone towards Duvalie, likely to lighten the mood after such a encounter.＂

＂??!!＂ Duvalie was now suddenly flustered by Ennea's comment.

＂Indeed. I could have swore that she was almost on the verge of tears. Oh wait, she actually is crying＂Pointed out Ines.

＂Why..why you.. I I WASN'T fearing the worst!!! I Knew that such a creature could never best our glorious and illustrious lord!!! I'm- I'm simply crying tears of awe! YES! That's it, i am crying because of how grand our lord's victory of that monstrosity was!!!＂ So started saying Duvalie, in an effort no doubt to maintain some shred of dignity.

＂They really never change, even after such a stressful situation.＂ Thought Arianrhod.

Helfen... Sie mir...

Her eyes underneath her helmet suddenly widens in shock as she turns her head towards the tunnel.

＂My..lord?＂ asked Duvalie now suddenly aware of the sudden change in mood from their lord. Ines and Ennea too are now focused on Arianrhod as she now gaze towards the tunnel leading out of the large room.

＂..... Duvalie, Ines, Ennea you three, go back to the entrance of the castle and awaited my return. I shant be long＂ stated Arianrhod to the shock of her knights.

＂What?!＂

＂Bu-but my lord!＂

＂W-w-wait hold on, what do you mean by that?＂

＂Worry not. With the death of this large monstrosity it appears that the flown of mana has started to calm down, it appears that the leylines will in due time stabilise. I sincerely doubt i will have to face any more creatures of this magnitude.＂

Duvalie, despite seeing her lord's logic tried to argued on a specific point.＂But my lord, if i may, we still haven't found this anomaly you spoke of! We have no idea about what kind of danger it might presents. Please let us three at least stay with you in case something may happen.＂Pleaded Duvalie with worry, a sentiment shared by her fellow knights.

Beneath her helmet, Arianrhod had a small smile of gratitude. ＂Your concern is appreciated Duvalie, as are yours Ines, Ennea. You are right that i haven't been completely myself ever since we enter here＂So she say to her kngiht, causing to gaps slightly at the revelation that their lord knew of their thoughts. ＂But i have a feeling.. that whatever this anomaly is, it may very well not be as much as a threat we were lead to believe. Put faith in your teacher, everything shall be alright.＂

A few moment of silence passes, before the three stalhirtters nods at once in understanding wishing their lord luck as they then turn around and heads back towards the exit.

With her knights now gone, Arianrhod was now alone. She call upon her divine knight.

＂Argreion. Just now.＂

＂YES IT CAME FROM THE DIRECTION IN FRONT OF YOU LIANNE WHOEVER SENT THOSE TELEPATHIC CALL TO YOU IS NEARBY＂

With that confirmed, she looks straight towards the path that will lead to the answer about the anomaly as well as the voice she heard.

With a firm resolve, Arianrhod began to walk down the path that leads to the center of this event.

A few minutes in and still the tunnel goes on and on. That being said she could feel a presence that she was approching by the steps, More than likely the anomaly.

A part her did felt a bit guilty of not fully telling the stalhritters about why exactly she wished to go on her lonesome. She had a feeling that the foreign existence was despite the consequences of its landing, was currently not posing an  active danger to Zemuria.

She didn't know how to explain this feeling, althought it may very well be linke to the possibility that the voice and the anomaly are one and the same. After all the last words she had heard just know.

Help me

Those were the words she had heard. There was no malice nor agression in them. They were a honest call for help. 

Still, if a child was to be the cause of the leylines going into chaos and if they came from the beyond. What exactly were they?..

Arianrhod simply shook her head sideways a bit, those questions were futur issues, now at present she was about to get to the bottom of this task given to her by the grandmaster and this task was coming to a close, she just knew it.

Eventually, she stops in her tracks and was now looking at an obsatcle in front of her path... It was a...door? A very large nearly 12 arges gold with purple outline door was standing in front of her. 

＂Behind this doorway... I can feel it now, there is indeed the presence of something or rather someone.＂ She braced herself, before pushing open the door wide. The door opens up completely revealing a large open area, less big than the previous but still rather wide. There also appeared to be a giant hole in the celling at the other side of the room from where faint traces of sunlight could peek into. 

But it was what was in front of her at the other side right below the hole in the celling that immediately attracted her attention, causing her to gasp slightly.

For there was a small humanoid figure currently crouching on their knees, surrounded by a purple barrier a few arges from her.

Silence filled the room for a moment, the figure didn't seemed to have notice her and its head was currently just down, Arianrhod could't see her face.

After a few moment of contemplation, she took a deep breath and started to walk towards the small figure at a relative calm pace to avoid any sudden mouvement.

5 arges..

3 arges...

She now was standing right next to the figure and now had a better view of them.

It was indeed a child. A young girl even.

She had long blonde yellow hair and was wearing a white purple outfit that was rather regal for a child of her age with some odd sigils encrave into them that Arianrhod had never seen before. She seemed to be from the looks of it in her early teens. The most noticable thing was not that her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping but rather what she was clutching across her arms. It was a book, its had a deep purple cover around it and the girl was clutching it tightly by the looks of it. Another thing to notice was that the girl had what looks to be a a sphere of concentrate mana around her, most likely for protection.

Arianrhod's mind was racing. On one hand, the anomaly had finally being found so the mission was a successes so to speak. On the other hand, the entity's appearance...was definitely not what she had expected.

A child? Why would a child come from the beyond? How did this girl ended up causing all this ruckus?

Just who or what exactly was this young girl?

Any more thinking quickly came to an end when the girl started to stirs and then opened her eyes. She lift her head and immediately stopped her mouvement as she now was gazing at her.

Orange golden youthful eyes were now fixated on the steel maiden who was standing over the child.

...

...

...

A few seconds pass, in absolute silence as the two were looking at one another. Arianrhod was unsure how to initiate first contact with the girl.

＂Wer.. Wer bist du?＂ spoke the young girl in a quiet and slightly hesitant tone.

＂Her voice... She is indeed the one who had communicate with me since i entered the castle..＂ This finally confirmed that the identity of the voice was indeed this very same child, who also was the anomaly she was sent to investigate. Not only that but the way she spoke made it clear that she was somehow speaking in old erobonian. Most curious indeed...

She then realise that she had not answered the child's question and now she looked a little nervous at her lack of reaction. ＂Ah. I suppose i need to find a way to calm her and reassure her that i am no threat to her..＂ 

Arianrhod then had an idea. She put her hands on the sides of her helmet and in one calm motion removed it from her face. Her blue eyes were now locked to the golden ones of the child.

The girl gave a slight gasp and seemed surprise and confuse upon seeing her visage. Traces of uneasiness were gone and replace by curiosity and focus towards her.

Putting a hand n her chest, as a form of social greetings she began to respond to the girl. ＂Es ist alles in Ordung. Du musst dich vor nitchs fürchten,＂ Reassured Arianrhod towards the girl who was a bit shocked at her words. Apparently it seemed that she too did not expect someone to speak in her native language. Ignoring that for now she follows up by introducing herself to the young girl. ＂Ich bin Lianne Sandlot.＂

＂Lianne... Sandlot...＂said the girl, a bit bewildered by what was happening right now. She decide to stand up. She was shorter than her or any of her knights. If Arianrhod was to take a guess, she would be at least 150 rege tall( 5'0). She then procced to put a hand on the back of her book before the magical sphere around her fade away.

It seems that she managed to convince the girl that she was no danger to her.

＂Bist du vom Himmel gekommen?＂ She said as she points to the big hole in the celling of the cave. The girl looks up as well before looking back at her and giving a small nod.

That at least confirmed that the girl seemed aware of at least that she felled in here. She wonders if she has any other ideas about what lead to her arriving in Zemuria.

To be fair, she could ask her question a bit later. Right now in this dark cave deep undergound this wasn't the appropriate location for such a thing. And honestly, while the girl was most certainly not a normal human by any means based on her presence. There was not hint of malice or hostility in her eyes, she could tell that much. It was time to get out of her old home alongside the girl.

＂Das ist wohl kaum der ritchige Ort, um sich vorzustellen.＂She said to the girl. ＂Komm...＂She then put foward her right hand towards the girl, with her palm fully open to grasp. ＂..lass uns diesen Ort verlassen.＂She states to the girl who was paying close attention to her words and her gesture.

The girl looked back and forth between her and her extended hand as if unsure. She then gave another small nod and a small sound of agreement and gently grasped Lianne's hand with hers. The two of them then began to leave this cave and head back to the surface.

The wheel of fate is now turning.

For little did the two of them knew, that their meeting would kickstart many unexpected events in the futur that only the goddess may have foresseeing.

A new tale of light and darkness is about to be written.

Prologue: The saint and the girl

END

Chapter Text

" ...and that concludes my report."

The celestial globe was silent. The members digesting what was the seventh just revealed to them. Suffice to say, most were not expecting what the identity of the anomaly was.

" So let me see if i get this straight steel." Began the voice of the fourth anguis." After arriving at your castle you were suddenly contacted by a voice in your head. You and your knights than procceded to fight your way through the castle encountering many buff up monsters culminating in you facing a big multi headed snake creature. Then you, by your lonesome went ahead to find the source of the distortion and what you find was.. this girl you speak of. Did i miss anything?"

Arianrhod said nothing in response, not even attempting to humor the thousand oathbreaker. A small silence ensued until the voice of a man of science broke it.

"Fascinating! To think that this anomaly has manifest itself in the shape of a girl from beyond this world! Ooohh! I absolutely must meet with her, she might prove to be a very interessting test subject!" Exclaimed Novartis, whose voice was filled with passion.

" Good grief professor. You do realise that joining ouroboros is a willing choice. We'll have to ask if she wants to join our little society. " Answered Campanella.

" Ohohohoho!!! Well i must say that it seems like déjà vu to me! A mysterious child with potentially great power. My oh my. You've really hit the jackpot haven't you steel maiden? You should let me have a look at, i could maybe tell what exactly she is after all it is my field of expertise."

"That will be enough. The grandmaster wishes to speak." Said the first anguis.

" I thank you Arianrhod for fufilling this task. I must admit while i knew the existence of this foreign entity her true apparence had eluded me. As for the child from beyond i can tell at least that for the moment the darkness i felt seems to have become dormant for the time being."

"The real question is, what to do about the child?" Said the grandmaster.

Many ideas were discuss. Some thought to simply banish the girl away from zemuria. Other thought to inducte her in the society. After each said their piece only Arianrhod was left to speak.

" Arianrhod, you were the one who made contact with the girl. Do you truly believe she is a possible threat to the orpheus final plan ?" Said the first anguis.

"... For now no. The extend of her capabilities are stil unknown, but i saw in her eyes that at present she is more confused and curious about the world than anything else and there is nary a trace of aggression within her. Althought, she does act a lot more mature than what her age would suggest, i do not think she is dangerous."

"It would be best for the time being that you seventh, since you were the first person to come into contact with her, that you keep guardianship of the girl from the beyond. I believe she will be more at ease with someone she already has interacted with." Answered the first anguis.

" Very well, the stalhritters and i shall keep watch over her. Any significant changes shall be reported swiftly. For now i should head back and begin to know more about who she is and from were she came".

" Then be on your way Arianrhod and make sure to send to us any more information about this girl from the beyond." Responded the grandmaster before bringing an end to the meeting and contemplating the various ways this arrival could bring to the society plan.

With the meeting adjourned, Arianrhod was now walking back to the current hideout they were in. It was a small abandonned chapel who had long since become nought but ruins that travelers would use to take a rest. 

The sound of birds singing was heard as she approched the chapel and saw the girl sitting on the stairs looking up at the blue clear sky while both Ines and Ennea were standing a few erges away silently observing her. Duvalie meanwhile had her back facing Arianrhod not noticing her approching until just now.

" My lord! You've returned. My apologizes, didn't feel your presence." She responded somewhat flustered.

" It is alright. I see that you've been busy after all."

" We-well... yes." She answered giving a side look to the girl who was currently reading her purple tome, unaware of her surroundings.

" Nothing troublesome happened in my absence?"

Duvalie sighted a bit before speaking. "No, nothing out of the ordinary. Aside from some  questions regarding the area or about your whereabouts she was quiet and more focus on exploring her surroundings, like a child of her age."

" I see..." True to be told she was a bit suprise at how normal for a lack of a better world the girl was acting. She had gave off the impression earlier of being much more mature than what her appearance would suggest. In fact she had a feeling that the girl might be older than she looks at an eye glance. She herself was centuries old despite looking like a young woman, so she wouldn't be suprise if that was the case.

" What did the anguis and the grandmaster said?"

" It seems that for now we are to watch over her and learn more about what we can."

"Really? I mean... not to be disrespectful but we are knights. Not babysitters. Surely someone more expérience in matters concerning the beyond could take care of this my lord."

" You are correct that we are first and foremost knights Duvalie. But you saw that this girl wasn't normal during your first interaction and that so far we are the first faces that she encountered in this world. We are for her the only figures she feels familiar with."

"...Indeed. I was confuse and so were Ines and Ennea when you brought her out of the castle." Whispered Duvalie as she remembers her first meeting with the mysterious girl a few hours ago.

It had been a few dozen minutes since the three stalhirtters were waiting at the entrance of the castle for their lord. There was a few bits of anxiousness, especially after that many headed monster that blasted their lords and the fact that she said she could continue by herself. Not helping was again just out of her usual demeanor she was acting after she killed the beast, as if she was... being called to somewhere or someone.

The sound of metal footsteps caught their ears as relief was évident on their faces. Their lord has returned!

At once the three were standing on their knees in front of the entrance as their lord has returned safe and sound and had deal with the anomaly.

"My lord i am glad to see your safe. I take it that the ano...ma...ly..?" Duvalie trailed off as she and her knights had just notice something different.

Namely that their master was not alone.

Clutching Arianrhod left hand as in to not get lost, was a small girl with blonde hair wearing a purple and white outfit clutching a book.

"...uh..." Duvalie was at a lost for words. The same could be said for Ennea and Ines who eyes and mouth were a little agape at the sight of their lord coming out with a child of all things.

The mysterious girl upon noticing their expression seemed to slowly hide herself behind Arianrhod for protection.

"Keine Sorge Sie. Meinen es nicht böse."  Said their lord to the girl in old erebonian of all things. This seemed to work as the girl slowly came out and was now facing the three, still confused knights.

"My... my lord. Who...is..this?" Said Duvalie who was the most confused she had ever been in her life.

"She" Began Arianrhod as she was slighty holding the girl by her shoulder who was now clutching Arianrhod cape as security clinging, a gesture that no one ever did before. " is the anomaly herself."

....What?

Huh!!!?

All three knights were now completely shocked. This small child that was holding on to their lord, like a daughter would to their parent, was the entity from the beyond?!

What?!!

"A-a-a... are you... My lord are you certain of this?" Said Duvalie in utter disbelief. The so called entity that wrecked the leylines across the province and had attract the presence and had augmente the abilities of monsters...

Was. A. Young. Girl.

" Fräulen...Lianne?" Said the girl towards their master who simply chuckle lightly. 

Wait. Lianne?

She just said their lords actual name? Wait now that they realised it. Their lord was helmetless and had been since she exited the castle's entrance.

Does... does this mean that she willingly shown her face and told her true name to her!? Acts that only a handful even deserved to have the honor of expériencing.

And this girl, this random girl from beyond zemuria they were send to find... their lord considered it acceptable that she receives the honor?!

Or maybe.

"M-m-m... my lord?! What ever happened to your helmet? Did this... girl somehow, impossibleasitmaybe, destroyed your helmet!?" Duvalie said in a rather loud tone. It was clear that she was having a bit of a breakdown over what was happening. 

There must be a reason why her illustrious lord, the greatest knight of all, invincible in combat deemed this child worthy of such things! Surely this cannot be as simple such as-

"On the contrary, the girl was a bit frightened of my mask. I removed it in hope of showing her that i was not a threat. It was all it took for her to be more at ease in my presence." She said in a matter-of-fact.

...

Duvalie's mind went blank, as did her face. As if incapable of processing that her lord did this for such a simple reason. For a stranger of all people. Ines and Ennea were similarely suprised, though not as much as their leader who they were glancing towards the head knight frozen body.

" Oh dear. It seems little Duvalie has just stopped functionning." Said Ennea in a small voice of concerns.

" I take it was too much for her, although considering how she worships the ground our lord walks, this is hardly suprising in hindsight." Said Ines firmly and to the point.

The girl seeing the knight in front of her not moving an inch. Step away from Arianrhod sides and stood in front of Duvalie. She then flipped open her book to a page. Slided her hand over it before the page began to glow purple until it suddenly stops. She then look up at Duvalie whose eyes were now looking at her despite her frozen body. The strange girl then opened her mouth.

" A... Are.. you okay?"

...

...

...

What?

Was the only word inside the head of all four knights present.

The girl just now. She just spoke... Zemurian!

As in the universal language that every nations spoke. She could speak it now. 

Arianrhod own eyes widened a bit. Through the usage of her book she could now properly communicated with them without resorting to old erobonian.

" How?... No, rather why didn't she talk before in our language? Or could it be... that she could not until she heard it..." Thought Arianrhod, whose calm demeanor was replace by unexpected suprise.

Duvalie, for her own part had her eyes almost out of their sockets, with her mouth in the form of a big O. She could only mutter. "..Excu...se... me?"

"You seemed in a state of shock." Replied the girl in fluent zemurian. " I was just worried you weren't feeling well miss Duvalie." She said in a youthful voice that was nevertheless much more mature then what her child-like apperance would suggest. " Is there anything i can do?" She continued in a concerned tone.

"...Uh?! No i am fine- Wait what i am saying!?" Duvalie shook her head side to side rapidly ignoring the soft laughter coming from Ennea and Ines. " You! How are you able to suddenly speak our language when not even a minute ago you couldn’t- No that can wait. Who are you?! Where do you come from?! Where you the one responsible for the distortions?! And how in Aidios name did you manage to convince our proud and illustrious lord Arianrhod to let you bare witness to her unrivaled beauty and the knowledge of her true identity." The knight began to rant, causing the mysterious girl to get a bit anxious at the sudden emotional outburst the knight was having. Ennea and Ines had expressions of " there she goes again". Arianrhod for her part decide to defuse the situation so they could go back to more important things.

"Duvalie." She said firmly. Instantly causing the knight to stop her tirrade and snap back to attention." There are many questions you wish answered and so do i. But for now i suggest we retire to a safer place before the local authorities caught wind of us." The stalhritters then all slowly nods and Arianrhod turned to the young girl." Come." She says while giving her hand to the girl who nodded with less hesitation and grasped her hand, nevermind the weird gaze Duvalie was giving in her direction which went unnoticed, as circles began to form beneath the five of them causing the girl to gasp in suprise.

" This feeling... a teleportation spell? No... its different". Said the girl which caught Arianrhod interest. It seems that she wasn't unfamilliar with the ability to quickly cover vast distance instantly. Hopefully those questions will be answered soon for she had to report to the grandmaster and the others.

The yellow particles glowed even brighter before the five vanish.

" I still am not sure i understand my lord. How could such a small child be the cause of such a massive disturbance. Just what is she exactly?" 

" That will be answered soon. The grandmaster has task us to monitor her and learn more about her. So i believe now would be the right time to ask questions and have them answered."

"Of course my lord...."

"You seemed trouble Duvalie. I take its because of her presence?"

".... Yes my lord..." said Duvalie in a down tone. Truth be told while she wasn't excited at the prospect of guarding a child constantly she could tell that despite the awkwardness of their first meeting that the girl was in no way threatening despite being the cause of the phenomenom. She was quite polite and considerate. No, what did bother Duvalie (aside from how familiar she was acting with their lord).

Was the girl’s presence.

Duvalie may not considered herself to be the most perceptive of individuals but she can tell a bit about someone true nature just by the "aura" they were giving off. After all she was once partened with the blazing demon, who was most definitely not human. The Ashen awakener whose orgre power gave him a aura différent than that of any normal person. There also was the fool himself. Duvalie wasn't sure what it was, but he gave off a... inhuman presence at times. To say nothing of her own master who lived for centuries when it logically should not be possible. Her strength surpassed the boundaries of humanity. 

And now there was this girl. Her youthfulness aside she was certainly not human in the least. She was different in fact as a comparaison she reminded her of the black rabbit who she fought alongside in the civil war or even the divine child from Crossbell who she only had caught a glimpse of.

" Regardless, it is time to heard what she can tell us." State Arianrhod as she began to march towards the girl. Duvalie then procced to follow her.

As Arianrhod was approching the church, the girl had notice her. Instantly her face brighten up as she got up and began to walk up to her stopping just in front of her. " Welcome back lady Arianrhod!" She exclaim. 

Lady Arianrhod? Not miss Lianne? She so far always had called her by her actual name. What change? " You can call me by the name Lianne Sandlot. Arianrhod is fine as well."

" Really? But miss Duvalie said that i should refer to you as such and not by Lianne..." said the girl who was looking towards Duvalie who was suddenly sweating. Especially since Arianrhod was now also looking at her with a small questionning look.

" Uh.... i mean. You should call her lady Arianrhod when around strangers. Yes! That's it, that's what i meant by that earlier. She is concealing her identity so make sure not to forget that!" Responded Duvalie in a way to save face. Which given the head tilt of confusion coming from the girl, the soft giggles from her fellow knights and the very small sigh that came from her lord's lips, meant that she instead simply embarassed herself even more.

Arianrhod look back at the child before speaking up." Have you been a good girl?" She simply nodded before Ennea began to speak." That she did my lord. She politely greet us after you were gone. Althought.." she shoots a teasing look at the girl. " She was quite anxious after you were gone and was walking in circles, no doubt being eagerly awaiting your return." She finish in a mischevious tone.

" Ah! Mi-miss Ennea! I was just wondering were miss Arianrhod, i mean miss Lianne whent! That's all!" The girl answered nervously Ennea's declaration.

" It is alright young one, i apologize for my delay i had an important meeting to take care of." Said Arianrhod as she was reassuring the girl before continuing. " I believe it would be high time that we all have a proper introduction is it not? You have questions no doubt and so do we. Would you be willing?"

The young girl was suprise at first before she adopted a much more focus expression." Yes. I believe it would now be a good time to exchange informations between us." She responded in a cool voice.

She then turned towards all four knights and made a small bow of introduction, still clutching her book. 

"Its nice to meet all of you. My name...

... is Yuri Eberwein."