Chapter Text
"¿What am I even doing? I already knew trying to raid one of the cult's facilities alone was a bad idea... ¿Why did I do it then?"
Those thoughts were passing through Alexia Midgard Brain while she was reflecting over the circumstances that brought her here. Ever since her Father told her about the future of the continent. The war between Velgalta and Oriana, the path that her sister choosed and the path that her father wanted her to choose she has been in a rampage.
Spending more hours training, investigating the cult by herself and dedicating her full life to keep her mind away from those thoughts... The thoughts that everything is happening right before her eyes and she is unable to do anything about it.
Because she is weak. That impression she had of herself was temporarily erased after... She saw that man's sword. Shadow the leader of the shadow garden, he who lurks in the shadows to hunt the shadows, and the biggest enemy of the cult of Diabolo, she knows that fundamentally her sword is similar to his but at the same time all the hard work she has been doing trying to reach his height seems futile with everything that has happened... She feels like she is getting behind no matter how hard she tries she just seems to be unable to reach this cult's guy that called himself a children... Even less she is going to catch her sister. Not even talk about that man.
Out of her frustration she tried to raid a facility of the cult that she found herself... But even if the weak underlings were no problem for her this guy that says to be a second children of the cult is giving her lot of troubles... She knows she is going to die here.
Three broken ribs and that man just sliced her abdomen she is completely in the defensive and yet she is not even able to defend herself properly... her sword truly is the sword of the weak after all.
She took a bad step and suddenly felt the weight of her entire body pressing against her weak knees that wanted to give up long time ago ¿Why was she still fighting? even if she killed him she would die from her wounds anyways and after all.
"It probably would be easier to die here before having to face all that is going to happen to this world... No, that's not how the princess of the Midgard kingdom should think"
Alexia thought strengthing her resolve.
She has to defend the Midgard kingdom from the evilness and if her sister is not going to do it then she has to do it, for all the good people of her country... She can't stand dying here.
The so called second child throwed himself at her with a careless strike those kind of strikes that come from someone that is sure is about to win those same flashy strikes that her sister uses but this guy is not as strong as her sister... Yeah ¿what was she so worried about after all?
With a clean slice of her sword she ended up cutting the second child's arm sending it off flying it was clean and precise not unnecessary moves whatsoever just the kind of swordplay she aims for... A guy like that could never beat someone like her.
After that first slice she took advantage of the momentum and went directly to stab his throat killing him in the spot.
Alexia fell to her knees immediately; the wound on her abdomen was bleeding a lot... At that pace she was going to die before someone could get there.
But her mind instead was thinking about something else.
"that last stab I should have used the shoulder a bit more to add some strength and less of the fist itself that it's just a waste of energy"
She has always been like this in order to compensate for her lack of talent she grew over analytical about her style and every little movement.
"Well not like that matters, I'm going to die after all"
She thought to herself while pressing her hand to the wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.
But then the whole building started to get enveloped in a dark Aura and the sound of of some loud, gloomy steps filled the room... This presence the pressure she is feeling... There's only one person that can generate such effect and when Alexia turned around there he was.
"Shadow"
The man in the dark coat with a dark powerful Aura around him, with a hood that hides his face perfectly that just adds to the mystery, the man that Alexia looks up to the most, the one that saved her life once and has continued being in the main stage of the conflict since then was now in front of her and all she managed to say was his name... His presence was just that heavy.
Then Alexia found herself covered in that dark purple magic the same magic that once saved her is here to help her when she needed it the most, but then she heard a deep profound voice saying a phrase that surprised her and shaked her grounds at the same time.
Tell me Are you pursuing death?—
*************(I'll use this to make clear that there's a change between the third person narrator that is kind of omniscient and Cid's pov with first person narrator)
Man when I heard all the commotion that was happening here I thought I could finally have some fun but it seems like I arrived too late Alexia already defeated the bandits before me... Wait what is Alexia doing here? and she seems hella hurt.
I mean no one more than me understands the feeling of satisfaction of hunting some random bandits to feel like the most powerful person in the world, but doing it like this is no good she has to choose her fights carefully.
Since I like her swordplay it would be a shame if she died so I'll cure her and give her a little warning to not do something so stupid, but I have to make sure to do it in the most eminence in shadow way possible.
"Tell me Are you pursuing death?"
Yeah that line totally fits the situation and sounds so cool... I'm dying to see Alexia's reaction.
She just looked down while I finished patching her wounds and then after some silence she spoke—No, I'm just frustrated—Wow Alexia really knows how to add some dramatization it's almost as good as Alpha, but she isn't acting she is just a natural.
But Frustrated? I guess that facing the reality of not being strong enough it's always hard I remember the frustration I felt before finding those two magics lights in my past life but this is a world with magic and her swordplay shouldn't go to waste just because of some frustration.
"There's no point in frustration, just train harder"
Yeah that's the best advice I can give her as an eminence in shadow. That's the only way I know to grow stronger.
She then griped her skirt tightly she seemed like she was about to cry that's ok... I never allowed myself to cry but that's cause eminence in shadow just don't cry, but it doesn't mean the frustration didn't make me want to do it, but one needs a lot of conviction in order to do that if anyone could do that then anyone could become an eminence in shadow and I know more than anyone that that's not true.
"Well nothing left to do here I'll let her think by her own"
I thought that to myself, but when I was about to leave I feel the desperate pull of my coat coming from a certain someone behind me.
"Shadow!! I want you to train me... Teach me your swordplay!"
She said with a bit of desperation while holding her back tears... Her pull is kind of strong.
"You don't..."
Just when I was about to say one of my favorite lines "you don't need to know that" it's vague and mysterious totally eminence in shadow style, but I got interrupted by her strained bossy voice.
"Teach me! I understand the fundamentals already! I need to be strong enough to fight my sister! To defend the Midgard kingdom!"
Is she having an argument with her sister? I thought they made up.
"The path I walk is not one people like you should walk"
Yeah cool phrase that gets the message that I don't want to train her at all... Last time I trained someone was Delta... And that went badly... I gave up teaching after that.
"Please!... I don't know what else to do I have tried everything... I'm just too slow... Teach me! I'll learn fast I won't be a burden! I'll even promise my loyalty to shadow garden!"
She said with desperation almost begging me to do what she wants.
"Please gods give me magic powers I'll be devote to you just give them to me"
Why does that memory comes to me now? Hahhhh I guess she is like me in a way... Hate to admit that though.
"Fine then... But only if you are willing to go through hell if I ask you to"
I can't get out of character now, this seems like an important scene.
Alexia's face light up after hearing me say that and then she just said.
"if it helps me save my kingdom then I'm willing to go through worse than hell"
She said while just giving me a reverence.
I couldn't help but smirk at her cockiness gotta admit it's going to be fun order her around and no the other way around... Hmmm since I'm going to train her as part of shadow garden I should take her to Alexandria, but I don't want her to find out it's all just a play... Should I tell Alpha and the others about not telling her anything but that would probably break the immersion and I can't trust Delta to keep a secret so I guess I should just say something else that gives the idea of that and to avoid Alexia involving too much with the rest of the garden.
After some thinking I grabbed her arm and started flying into the air.
"You will lose your Name and your status as a princess, you will abandon your whole identity in order to become someone new, someone stronger."
Alexia looked up at me while she was freaking out to be flying so high.
"Your new name will be Theta forget about Alexia Midgard."
Alexia looked surprised at first almost reluctant but then her face filled with determination.
"is that what it takes to be stronger? Then I'll be Theta."