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A radiant warmth. A gentle glow. A welcoming embrace.
As the bright, nearly blinding light begins to dissipate, the flowing silhouette of a majestic entity comes into sight. Calla's heart thuds in her chest as her gut tells her.
Lady Deitasterra.
The leader— the master that she has sought out all along.
The Lady stands proudly and gracefully, glancing around at the other disciples with warmth before her bright eyes land on Calla's form. It is as if those all-knowing eyes pierce through the veil adorning her vivid red hair and a warm buzz settles in her.
She steps forward and and grasps the pale hand extended her way, and when the Lady, her new master says her name in the most melodic voice, Calla is certain she has ascended to a new dimension— one with just the goddess and her worshiper.
After an unknown time passes, her master breaks their embrace and introduces her to the other disciples around them. They gaze upon Calla with warm enthusiasm and soon engage her in conversation.
It is like coming home, even though it is her first time here.
It has been far too long since Calla has felt like she belonged.
A sharp, visceral pain seizes Calla's heart as the once bright purple crystal of her master's heart is shattered before her eyes. The dark night comes to a standstill— the world and her thoughts are frozen in time and she cannot understand the scene.
Her master, her Lady, the Dark Lord is all powerful.
She is benevolent and kind. She possesses her heart.
A heart that now breaks just as her master's did when that traitor Arverna made her move. And now, with her Lady lost to the cosmos and the remaining disciples looking to Calla— to the second Dark Lord, the weight of the universe bears on her.
Deep in her heart, she knows it's all over.
Alas, she must continue on. It is her duty.
Calla closes her eyes, pictures her master's grace, power, and poise, and leads their remaining troops into battle. She must remain strong for her Lady, after all.
And then everything fades to black.
She cannot move her body and is left helpless in this void, alone with her thoughts.
Memories of her master's smiles and embraces play on repeat.
Soon, it becomes far too much to bear. She decides to end it all.
When a flash of soft pink breaks through the void, Calla dismisses it at first.
After all, without the motions of space and time, her mind has had many an eon to play tricks on her. Between the soft dreams shattered by nightmarish memories, a comfortable warmth pierced through by the bitter cold, and the eerily silent and still void— one truly worthy of being called Death, she is certain her mind is lost.
Only, this strange pink ray of light reappears.
And accompanying it this time, is a warm heart that softly calls her name.
For the first time after who knows how long, Calla feels her heart slowly return to life. She wishes she could pinch herself— to confirm that this familiar presence is not another cruel illusion following so many, but the sign of a hopeful new reality.
Then the blinding light hits her once more.
She curls away from the light for a split second as she acclimatizes herself to existing in this new open world. After a moment, she slowly opens her eyes and her heart stops.
Those piercing purple eyes—
The waves framing her face—
The determination she dons—
Her master has finally returned.
Calla quickly realizes just how wrong her snap judgment is.
Not in the literal sense, no.
It is very clear that her master has indeed returned and that her Lady's constellation— the fragments of her shattered heart will soon descend from the sky.
It is moreso the essence of the young lady that summoned her.
At first, Calla does not see her. She sees the Lady Deitasterra hidden behind this young lady's determination and ambition. When this human girl tells her that she wants to break the Dark Lord's curse and free the magicians, Calla sees the pure grace, compassion, and benevolence her Lady once exhibited towards all of her subjects before Arverna's betrayal.
And on this front, Calla is in agreement.
She does not want to see innocent people suffer any longer— whether it be losing their conscience and turning into a vicious dark beat or the harsh social exclusion and suppression campaigns that the blasted kingdom of Lampas conducts against them.
However, there is something different about this human girl.
After they recover the first shard, the girl absorbs it, learns the truth, and turns away.
Calla's heart weighs heavily and she remembers.
Lapis. That is her name.
Once Calla says her name aloud, it is as if a cascade of dominoes fall in sequence.
First, it is her name.
Next, it is her clumsiness and shyness.
After that, it is her bright and optimistic personality.
And before Calla realizes it, Lapis is the one she sees before her eyes.
Of course, she is still devoted to the Lady Deitasterra and some part of her heart will always belong to her master. It is inevitable, given the very course of history.
But now, there exists something else to her existence.
She may be the second Dark Lord and a disciple of her master's, but she is also a professor at the knight's academy, even if it is only to gain information at first; a friend, even if only a few of the original disciples still exist; and more importantly, Lapis' companion.
It is a comfortable existence. Passing the casual moments with Lapis warms her heart.
The desire to be together, to see Lady Lapis smile, to help see her ambitions to the end.
She may share the same roots as her master, but she is Lapis.
And Calla wishes to defend her soul and remain by her side.