Chapter Text
This person wasn’t human.
A wounded man scrambled through the mud. His right arm, the limb he took for granted, lay severed. Turning to look at his attacker, a woman slowly walked towards him, leaving the ground she walked untouched.
With her outward appearance, one would easily mistake her for one. Short blonde hair and a long brown cloak made her out to be a person of unremarkable stature at first glance. Upon further observation, more details would become apparent to any astute observer. A cold glare that carried a thousand years of tragedy. Flawless skin without a blemish to an almost impossible degree could be seen in her hands and face, nearly as if she never held anything in her life.
Drip
A drop of blood fell into a pool of viscera beside her. An intricately decorated halberd, an item unbefitting someone like her, became a blur as she flicked the remaining blood off its edge. Behind her were the products of a one-sided massacre. Blood and limbs were all that remained of his men, over a dozen strong.
“Wait, wait! We can work something out! I’ll never-” In a flash, his head was removed from his shoulders as the woman seemingly appeared in front of him, her weapon already swung. The body fell to the ground, joining the dead around her.
The woman cleaned her weapon before planting it at her side. “Very messy, Amelia. Does Kronii know you're using her power for such small fry?” There wasn’t anyone around her that could have spoken, yet she wasn’t surprised at its presence.
Amelia spoke aloud. “I don't think she’ll care as long as it wasn’t too much. Besides, you asked me to remove these mistakes from your domain, Mumei. I’m just being efficient.”
“I know,” the voice chuckled. “The balance in the surrounding villages should be restored with their deaths. Do you need anything from me right now? A nice cozy bed at the local tavern, perhaps free from an overly generous keeper?” The disembodied voice asked her to help her in a little pet project to form so-called ‘Countries’. She said it would pay off in the generations to come.
“Our little worker still has something to do before we set her loose.” Another voice interjected, “You didn’t forget, have you?”
“I haven’t, Bae. I’ll see to it as soon as possible.”
“Excellent, good luck then.” Silence quickly came to her mind.
Despite what one might think, Amelia wasn’t going crazy and talking to the voices her feverish mind conjured. She was an Avatar, the physical manifestation of the authority of a higher plane of existence.
She served the Council. A conglomerate of beings encompassing reality guided her actions in maintaining the balance of their domains.
Mumei, the Guardian of Civilization, gave her form.
Fauna, the Keeper of Nature, breathed life into her
Kronii, the Warden of Time, made her being timeless.
Baelz, the Embodiment of Chaos, brought her conscience.
Sana, the Speaker of Space, empowered her body and mind.
Since time immemorial, she has been doing their will without fail since her very inception from nothing. Given the simple name of Amelia, the Avatar also had another title to her own.
The Emissary.
Preparing to leave the mess behind, she felt a familiar presence around her. Amelia smirked. “Servant of Thanatos. I haven’t expected your presence.” Beside the bodies she left behind was a figure clothed in black with a hood concealing their face. In hand, was a Scyth that stood as tall as they were, its edge glistening in the sun. “Or should I start calling you Calli now?”
The figure pulled its hood back, revealing a pink-haired woman. “Stop with that Servant of Thanatos shit, Amelia. Unless you want me to call you Emissary whenever I see you.” Mori Calliope, a reaper in training and Avatar of the concept of death stood before her.
“Here to reap some poor souls?”
Calli sighed, “Yeah… Death-sensei has been urging me to take more time to see life instead of taking it. I was just sightseeing around before I sensed the unnatural death of a dozen souls that never fulfilled their fates. It was pretty easy to assume that you're the one who severed their strings.”
Death was the end for mortal beings. And it was bound to a fate set in stone by Thanatos, the Grim Reaper. The moment of one’s conception, one is given a string of fate they must follow until their predetermined fate. But as a creation of similar authority, Amelia wasn’t bound to any fate and could sever the thread of others early despite it.
“I was only doing what was commanded to me.” Amelia reasoned.
”Yeah, yeah. I know.” Calli said, “But now you made a mess I have to clean up after you and make a report to Sensei. So can you do me a favor?”
”Sure?”
Calli spun her Scythe in a circle before pointing its tip at her. ”Mind we have a spar? I have a lot of things on my mind that I need to let loose. And right in front of me is the perfect immortal punching bag.”
“Is one of those an immortal Phoenix that has you in her loving sights?” Calli let out an exasperated sigh. Grinning, Amelia raised her halberd and ran her fingers along its side. Multiple runes carved on its head shone a light blue as she lowered her stance. “I’m joking. Don’t think I’ll let you wail on me without fighting back.”
”I wasn’t counting on it!”
Fauna would later reprimand her for the destruction of the nearby forest.
Civilization was progressing at a quick pace. From mud huts and ramshackle houses of sticks and stones, they advanced to a much higher quality of life with buildings of quality wood and castles created from stone. Technology and knowledge weren’t far behind either. Metallurgy, medicine, and even a dabble of alchemy became prevalent among the people.
However, all this advancement came at a cost, forests were being cut down at a faster rate, while the race for minerals poisoned the waterways and lakes. This sudden change in balance brought Nature and Civilization lashing at each other.
Conflicting commands came from each of the respective sides. So much in fact that the three other members of the council cut off Fauna and Mumei’s communications with her.
As Sana said to her. “Take some time off while we handle this ourselves.”
And Amelia was doing just that. During the times she wasn't doing the Council’s bidding, she enjoyed investigating the rumors and stories that came from all around her. Ghost stories and legends tickled her fancy the most as she traveled the world.
At the moment, she was standing on a beach of yellow sand, staring into the ocean. A rumor of a mermaid enticing strangers to join her before disappearing was rampant in the area. To Amelia’s vast knowledge, the rumor had some substance of truth.
The location she was near was the remains of an ancient civilization that Mumei created centuries ago, Atlantis. Populated by what could be described as fish people, it was quite advanced before being destroyed by an infuriated Fauna just a couple of years ago at the start of their arguments. An overreaction by most definitions but only a mild inconvenience to higher beings. Of course, Mumei was furious and she ended up causing the overhunting of a couple of species.
But back to the rumor at hand. It was probably a survivor of the disaster trying their best to survive off any poor human they came across. Speaking of which, a splash could be seen in the distance. Too big to be a fish. Too small to be a whale. Wrong area to be a dolphin. That had to be the Atlantean.
Her thinking was immediately proved right as a glint emerged from the ocean. Quickly stepping to the side, a trident soared past her and impaled itself into the sand beside her. The weapon soon pulled itself out and back into the hand of its wielder, a girl standing on the water’s surface. Not much shorter than her, the girl wore a hodgepodge of human clothes that didn’t seem to fit her. Her defining feature was a long, blue shark tail resting on the water, a bite marking its fin.
Sighing as the Atlantean coiled her arm to throw again, Amelia took to the water, running on its surface. Taken aback by the human’s ability to walk on water, she threw her trident again. Instead of simply dodging again, Amelia lashed her halberd at the trident. Sparks erupted as the two weapons struck before the trident was sent into the sky.
The girl attempted to retrieve her weapon for the second time but Amelia wasn’t having it. Using her own strength, she pushed off the water and jumped. Before the Atlantean could pull it away, she grasped the handle of the trident. Manipulating her body midair, she spun and used the momentum to launch it.
In a split second, the trident crossed the distance between them, striking mere feet from the girl. A massive geyser of water shot up from the impact, dousing the shark and obscuring her view. As she tried to retrieve her weapon and find where her prey went, the touch of cold metal caressed her neck.
“Are you done, Child?” Amelia asked in Atlantean tongue.
“Child!?” the girl screamed. Forgoing the threat to her life, she twisted around and using her razor-sharp teeth, bit into Amelia’s neck. Her teeth dug deep before she ripped off a chunk of flesh, spitting it out.
Blood stained the water around them, the two still standing in place. Grinning at her handiwork, the Atlantean’s face turned to confusion before horror as the wound, which should have been fatal, suddenly began to heal. Skin knitted itself together as muscle and flesh reformed. In a matter of seconds, there was nothing left that could indicate an injury of any kind.
All of this happened with a disappointed frown on Amelia’s face. With a closed fist, she slammed it into the side of the girl’s head. Catching her unconscious form, she retrieved her trident with a little power borrowed from Fauna before walking back to the beach.
“Was there a need to use my power?” Kronii asked, sensing Amelia’s random manipulation of time “You damn well could have dodged that bite. You did that on purpose.” While it was true that she could have done that, a bite from an adolescent mortal wasn’t going to do a thing to her body. And besides that little manipulation of time to heal the wound in real time would have put anyone on edge.
“I was just having fun. The look on her face was something to behold,” Dropping the unconscious Atlantean and her weapon on the beach, Amelia ripped a small piece of paper from a piece of parchment she had. She quickly wrote a message before sticking it on the girl’s face. “Welp, I had my fun. Anything on the agenda, Kronii or did you just come to watch?”
“Well, there is something, but what did you write?”
Written on the note was a single sentence.
Watch what you’re doing. There’s always a bigger fish.
Time passed quickly for her. Either from her timeless body or the repetition of wandering for as long as she has been, years passed like nothing. From walking between the disgusting city roads covered in people's filth, she now traveled through roads lit by gas lamps, kept clean by a well-planned sewer system.
There was a technological revolution of some sort happening in this era with the advent of steam power, factories, and advanced production techniques. Life was significantly better than centuries before. People were healthy. Medicine was advancing quickly. Transportation became easy. Goods and necessities were plenty.
However, this came at a cost. Pollution and expansion led to the destruction of portions of Fauna’s domain, leading to another clash between the two beings. At least this time, they were more civil in their matters, hashing out plans for a compromise with the other three as mediators.
This, as did last time, gave Amelia plenty of free time to explore this wonderful age. Well, after she does something. Before beginning the multi-year process of negotiations, Fauna commanded her to investigate an intrusion into her domain. Not of nature, but life itself.
“It has come to my attention that someone or something has decided to defy reality itself and created life through artificial means. Investigate and eliminate this aberration at your discretion.” That was all she said to her.
And now she stood in front of the small workshop, one simply called Geppetos. Far outside of the industrial district, the shop had a small display at the front that contained a showcase of its products. Small toys and wooden statues were sat upon shelf after shelf. But the most eye-catching part of the window was the puppets hanging from the top.
Created from simple wood, the quality of their creation was something even she could marvel at. Clean, polished, and hand-carved, each puppet had a sense of character that made them unique. A different piece of clothing here and a variance of face there cemented that fact.
Pushing the door open, the store’s interior was filled with even more toys. From the shelves and the counter, not a single space was left free. Seated behind the counter was an old man, around 60 years old, working on a puppet. An outlier in a time when people died younger. But where was the artificial life? The old man was certainly human.
“How can I help you, young lady?” He said, looking up at her.
She inwardly scoffed at the age assumption. “Nothing for now. I'm just browsing.”
“Ok, if anything catches your eye, just let me know.”
Amelia walked to the counter and glanced at the doll in his hand. It was practically finished in her eyes with significantly more detail than the ones outside. Dressed in a white and green dress, the puppet was obviously female in design with short white hair with further green accents. “What a nice puppet, sir. Is there anything like that here?”
He chuckled, “Not as of now. This is a gift for my daughter, but you can put down an order, and I’ll get to work on it as soon as I can.”
“Maybe I will, but I’ll keep looking for now.”
Feigning disappointment, she went back to looking for her objective. As she was about to lift a puppet to give it a curious look over, the front door opened. “Father! I’m home!” Her eyes narrowed as a girl just like the puppet the old man was carving walked in. And in more ways in one. Instead of joints, as any normal human would have, an artificial and abhuman construction replaced them. Just like a puppet.
Artificial life. An automaton. Her target.
“Cecilia!” the old man yelled, “What did I tell you about coming through the front? You’ll disturb the customers. Please forgive my daughter’s rude entrance.”
“It's alright, sir. In fact…” Amelia held out her empty hand, summoning her trusty halberd into it. Despite being an antiquated tool of war in an age of firearms, she could see a wave of panic wash over the automaton and puppet-maker. “I think I know what I’m here for.”
The old man exhibited an even more adverse reaction, upon seeing the emblem notched onto the axe head. A simple design of a leaf, clock, planet, die, and feather surrounded by a shield. “The Emissary…” he breathed.
“Oh? You know who I am?” Despite trying her best to keep her actions as inconspicuous as possible, someone must have taken a record of her existence and plastered it in some writing. “Then you must know why I’m here, Mr. Geppeto.”
“What can I possibly have that could satisfy someone as esteemed as you, Emissary?”
Amelia slammed her axe head into the door frame, blocking the entrance from a sneaking Cecilia with its edge. “Your deception has already been revealed to me by my masters. You and…” She glared at the automaton as it backed away from her. “That thing have defied the reality created by them. And as their Avatar I am the swift executioner of their will.”
Backing into the counter beside her creator, the automaton suddenly reached behind it and pulled out a white lance. “Like hell, you will! Leave us alone!” The doll lunged forward at Amelia with a stab aimed at her chest.
Her form was abysmal. Utter amateurish. Just using one hand to hold the spear, she lacked the speed and power to make good use of its reach. It was clear that she was never trained or built to use such a weapon.
Parrying the attack to the side with her weapon’s handle, Amelia followed with a strike to Cecilia’s stomach with her free hand. Empowered by the subtle manipulation of gravity, the punch sent her crashing through the counter and into the wall behind it. As the dust cleared, Amelia was met with the slumped form of a doll.
“Foolish.” Walking up to her target, she noted the spark of life that still shined in her body. Still alive after such a strike was a testament to her construction. But that wouldn’t matter in the end. Bracing the deadly edge of her halberd above the fallen doll to finish the job, she was rudely interrupted by a struggling cry.
“Wait! I want to make a deal! A fair deal!” She looked to her side, where the old man slowly stumbled toward her. Falling to his knees, he looked up to Amelia. “My life for hers.”
She raised her eyebrow. “And why should I accept this? You understand your crimes against reality.”
“I know you have to do this but please! She doesn’t bear the sin of her own creation. I do! I’m the one who brought her into this world and treated her as my daughter. I’m the one who violated your master’s reality! So if you're going to punish someone, let it be me! Let me bear my sins!”
“Hmm.” A soul for a soul. A man’s soul for the life of his creation. A fair trade by all means. Amelia withdrew her polearm from the motionless doll. “I accept your offer. I’ll make your death as painless as possible.” She was taking some liberties with this assignment.
The old man sighed in relief despite his impending fate. “Thank you, Your Excellency. I knew you would see reason in my pleas. Just afford me a moment to write my final thoughts to her.” He wrote in a small notebook beside him that Amelia elected not to read. She had respect for those who were willing to put others before them, and it would be disrespectful to honor such sacrifice with her peeking.
Clack
The pencil the man held pressed onto the counter. “I’m ready.”
“Good. Close your eyes,” he did so as Amelia held her hand in front of his face, “May Thanatos guide you to the other side.” Wisps of blue flowed from her hand and towards the man. In the span of a second, his features grew older as his breathing slowed. His body going limp, Amelia watched Geppeto’s breathing cease as his soul left his mortal form. She gave him a natural death, accelerating his life until his heart finally gave out. It was the very least she could do for him.
Walking to the entrance, away from the carnage she had caused, Amelia heard the sound of quiet sobbing behind her. It was the automaton. It had awakened but couldn’t move, its head staring at the corpse of its creator. Turning to her, she uttered. “I’ll kill you…I’LL KILL YOU!”
Flipping her hood, Amelia opened the door. “If that is what you wish to do with the life your creator gave you, be my guest. But there will be nothing you can do to prevent me from finishing what I started if you try. Choose carefully.”
She stepped into the night, leaving the automaton to her thoughts.
Time passed again and this time Amelia was lounging in a small cafe. Not able to dress in her normal attire or have her polearm by her side, she wore clothing fit to the age. Of course, her beloved possessions were always with her, ready to be summoned in an instant.
After so many years of being an observer of the actions of the world, Amelia was on another break. It became almost a ritual for Mumei and Fauna to be at each other's necks every century and now wasn’t an exception.
Greater technological advances discovered by the actions of man had obvious adverse effects on nature. Gone were the negotiations and subtle sabotage was the norm. At least the two kept things cordial. Well cordial as two gods could be.
The Titanic? Fauna’s doing. Had a couple of whales move that iceberg.
World War 1? Mumei’s doing. Had some guy shoot the archduke.
Sana, Bae, and Kronii got enough of their antics after they both somehow accidentally sent the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor into meltdown, causing an environmental and human disaster.
So here she was, sipping a coffee while her masters argued again above for years to come. Taking a glance at the watch she pocketed decades ago, Amelia stood up and paid for her drink. Besides relaxing, she decided to follow up on some ties she made over the last centuries.
Despite working alone during her travels, she sometimes joins mortals in their adventures every so often. From fighting alongside William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings to her rediscovery of the tomb of King Tut, she was there. Of course, she used an alias when she did so, but that wasn’t the case during one of her escapades.
A century ago, Amelia was looking into the occurrences of werewolves in the English countryside. There she met a family, also hunting the beasts, under the name Bloodflame. Somewhat knowledgeable on the occult and ancient history, they recognized her true identity during their first meeting. After saving the family of hunters multiple times during their brief adventure, they annoyingly swore an oath of secrecy and servitude to her. She quickly told them to keep doing what they were doing before and left.
Now, after decades of silence, she was finally going to see how her ‘servants’ were doing. Better late than never.
Taking a cab to a large estate the family built in the countryside, Amelia was dropped off at the foot of a long path. It seemed they amassed quite a wealth to have their housing so far away from the entrance.
Slowly traversing the path, she came across the mansion after a bit of time. But something was wrong. Smoke billowed from its roof as a massive fire raged in its windows. It wasn’t an accident, as she could see the damage of battle scarring the walls and ground from a battle occurring in the front. Rushing forward, she reached it, seeing the carnage in detail.
Bodies littered the ground, all with the red hair that marked the Bloodflame heritage. In the middle of them stood five figures, their weapons covered in the blood of their victims. One of them yelled seeing her, “Shiori, we got another one!”
Amelia narrowed her eyes. A demon with some sort of scepter. Twin hellhounds, pink and blue, with claws. A jewel of emotion made flesh with a katana. And finally a human with scissor blades. “Are you the ones that did this?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
They didn’t answer before the two hellhounds lunged towards her. Summoning her halberd and cloak, she met them head-on. She quickly activated the runes on the handle before swinging it towards the blue hound, releasing a wave of energy. The attack carved the ground and slammed into her target, sending it flying. Blood erupted from the hound's mouth as it slid across the ground.
“Fuwawa!” the other screamed before charging. Blocking a strike from the enraged twin, she was stuck in a contest of strength as they locked weapons. Behind her, the jewel made her move and advanced to slash her in the back. Just as the katana was about to impale Amelia’s back, her form disappeared. Reappearing above them, she slammed her leg onto the back of the pink hellhound before grabbing the sword hand of the jewel. Despite its immense weight, Amelia twisted her arm and threw it over her shoulder. A fountain of dirt shot up as the Jewel cratered the ground, falling unconscious.
“Mococo! Bijou!” screamed the demon, raising her scepter. On instinct, Amelia stabbed the ground, injecting the borrowed power of Fauna into the ground. Instantly, a wall of foliage emerged between the two. An unseen attack from the demon quickly shattered the barrier, sending bits of vine and leaf everywhere.
Putting the clues together, she made a deduction. Fast, unseen magic. Non-vocal. “I see. A demon of sound.” Her eye glowed a faded blue as she let Kronii’s power flow through her. Time slowed to a complete stop as she walked to the two remaining hostiles. She couldn’t alter matter during this time, but that wasn’t an issue to her. In position, she allowed time to resume.
To the demon, Amelia was standing completely still before suddenly appearing before her, halberd poised to decapitate her. In a maneuver that would save her life, she swung her scepter to block the attack. Hit off its intended course, its edge chipped and severed one of the horns on the demon. Disappointed at her strike, yet impressed at the demon’s reaction, Amelia resorted to kicking her in her exposed stomach. The strike sent her on her back, wheezing in pain.
Turning to the remaining enemy, she was surprised to see a book in their hands instead of the weapons they held earlier. “It seems that we picked off more than we could chew.” She held her hands up as black ink began crawling up her legs, pulling her down. “Well, until next time, Mrs. Emissary.” Amelia looked around and saw the same happening to the others. Before she could stop her from finishing their escape, she spoke again. “There’s a survivor inside, the last one of her family. If you don’t hurry, she’ll join the rest!” And just like that, she disappeared with the rest of her friends.
Amelia looked at the building, its form still alight. Although she was too late to capture the perpetrators, she still had time to save a life. Running through the front door, she was immediately engulfed in flames. However, the fire brought no harm to her as she searched for the sole survivor.
Upstairs, she heard the faint sound of crying from one of the rooms, and upon opening it was met with a child’s bedroom, untouched by the fire. Walking inside and closing the door behind her, she saw the head of red hair drop below the side of the bed. As she moved to get a better look, she was met with a child, only around eight years old.
She cowered from her, holding a small teddy bear. In all her millennia of experience, Amelia rarely if ever interacted with children. Holding out her hand in a simple matter to not scare her, she whispered in a calming tone, “It's not safe for you here anymore, young one. I’m Amelia, a friend of your family.”
“My parents, my family… are they…gone?”
Amelia slowly nodded. “Those who did it have retreated. I was too late to stop them.”
The girl wasn’t ignorant of her situation. “I see…” she said before taking her hand. Standing from her crouch, Amelia held the child in her arms before slashing the nearby wall with her weapon. Jumping out of the hole, they slowly floated to the ground under Amelia’s power. Her feet touched the front yard, where her battle happened minutes later. The bodies of the slain still lay among the rubble. Amelia felt the child in her arms sniffle.
“Mom! Dad!” She let her break out of her grasp before she ran to the pair of bodies lying one to another. Bloodied from their final battle, wounds covered them. Claw marks, deep sword cuts, and ruptured ears told her of their demise.
Walking to the side of the child, she saw a familiar weapon. Beside the body of the father was a massive greatsword. Colored red, it seemed like the creation of a madman with its clockwork hilt and broad blade. Amelia remembered it from her first encounter with the Bloodflames when it was wielded by their ancestor back then as well.
A hand grasped the handle of the sword, attempting to raise it. The child, tears still in her eyes, struggled to lift the weapon above her head. “What are you trying to do?”
She received a small grunt in reply. “I must…hunt them down. The ones who did this.”
Amelia looked on in amusement as she tried to walk, dragging the sword behind her. She didn’t get far as she started floating in the air. “You’re not going to get far like that, little one.”
“Hey put me down!” The child angrily squirmed, trying to move somehow.
“What makes you think a child can avenge all this alone? They’ll tear you apart before you realize it. Leave those vagabonds to others.”
“NO! I want to bleed them myself for what they've done!” she screamed, ”I. AM. A. BLOODFLAME!” A small blue flame erupted from her chest, somehow disrupting Amelia’s control and dropping her to the ground. Left without energy from her sudden outburst, the child lay exhausted, the small flame she had already extinguished.
Crooking her head at the sudden event, Amelia was taken aback. She has never seen anything of this sort in her travels. A flame, burning bright on the chest of a mortal. Was it spiritual? Magic? Or even demonic? Whatever it was, it offered the strength to rival her.
“Interesting.” She stood above her. “Quite the power you have there. Maybe you’ll stand a chance with a little help.” Amelia took the child into her arms, floating the greatsword beside her. “How about you stay with me for a while? You’ll get your revenge soon enough but that time isn’t now. Under me, it will only take a couple years before your ready to take them on. How about that?” She received only a small nod. “Great.”
Snapping her fingers, roots shot out from the ground and began to bury the bodies. Soon, the yard became a small graveyard with a couple of small wood crosses marking the dead. She turned to leave the mansion once and for all, the girl in her arms. “I almost forgot, what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you little one after all.”
“I’m…Elizabeth.”