Tondra looked upstream, watching the blue Crystalis estoc drift downstream. It emitted a black pulse of aura at regular intervals. Over it, a child coated in a blue and black aura hovered. Moving as though following the path the sword took.
"Kano? That's his sword, right?" She stood up, watching it drift closer to her. She stepped into the cold water, sending ripples as a gentle breeze rustled the leaves. Should I pick it up? But that magic would be foreign to me. It will probably harm me.
Wait! If I coat my hands in aura, it shouldn't be able to harm me. I have to get this back to him. It seems important since his familiar is hovering over it. The blade bumped into her leg as the child phased throughher. I see, so it's immaterial. But why is the blade so blunt? She touched the hilt. The fog that leaked from the blade intensified, pulsing more chaotically.
What is this feeling? It's overwhelming. The black fog began spreading up her arms. The purple stripes that rounded her iris spread and extended, covering the rest of her body. Flashes of lightning were released from her body, hoping to force the aura to recede. It simply spread further, dyeing even the stripes that hoped to contain it.
Her surroundings glitched before darkness was all she could see. Huh, An endless horizon spread before her. She lay on water, unable to sink but it rippled. Beyond the rippling water, she saw a blue cocoon. What is that thing? A blinding light appeared beside her, it was the child. It hovered above the water's surface. It's voice, reverberating.
'Miss Tondra….was it?'
"Yes, that is my name. Who are you?"
'It mattereth not. I wouldst inquire of thee: dost thou truly wish to save mine own master? His welfare should mean naught to thee. Thou, who hast been cast aside by thine own kin—what thinkest thou thou couldst accomplish, child?'
('It matters not. I wish to ask, do you wish to save my master? His well-being should not matter in the least to you. You, who has been forsaken by your family, whatever do you think you could do, child?')
"Cast aside, sayest thou? Mayhap I appear pitiable in thine eyes. Doth my shameless hope offend thee, turn thy stomach, perchance? In but a fleeting moment, thou hast pierced mine heart's veil and glimpsed its depths. Strange, is it not?"
She placed a hand on her chest, feeling the wild pace of her heart.
"Yet, I know not why, but to sit thus and speak with thee bringeth me peace. For now, I am certain—he liveth still. I know I am of little worth… less than naught, perhaps, yet—
Never before hath one believed in me as he hath. Ere now, all others would have turned away, lost in despair of me. For I am ever the hopeless one. And yet, even so… I would fain save him."
("Cast aside, huh? I suppose I look pathetic to you. How I so shamelessly hope seems sickening to you, doesn't it? In just an instant, you have seen through me. Digging to the depth of my heart. But—it seems weird to you, doesn't it?
I don't know why but, sitting here, speaking to you like this, makes me feel calm." She clutched her chest, feeling her racing heart, "because I now know that he is okay. I know I am useless…more than anything else but—
This was the first time someone has ever believed in me as he has. Normally, by now, they would have given up on me. Because, I am that hopeless. Even still, I want to save him.")
'The tongue of yore? Feeble!… Thy resolve is as chaff upon the wind—void of weight or worth. Child, thy words may beguile the ear that heareth them, aye, how they do slither serpent-like unto the drum of hearing. Yet never shall they deceive the heart. For even the barrel wherein the serpent maketh its nest knoweth full well what lieth within.'
('The tongue of old. Weak!….your resolve is without any substance. Child, your words may deceive the ears that hear them. How the slither to the eardrum like a serpent? But, that can never change the fact that they can never deceive the heart? Because even a barrel in which the snake nest understands that a snake nests in it.')
"Weak, sayest thou? What meanest thou by this? This feeling—I know it to be true… why doth it trouble me so?"
("Weak? Huh? What do you mean? This feeling, I know it's real….why?")
'If thou truly didst feel as thou dost claim—if thy heart were truly free of doubt—then wouldst thou have sunk by now. These waters mirror the will of them that tread upon them. The master whom I serve dwelleth within these depths, ever sinking, even lacking purpose. Yet thou, who boasteth of conviction, canst not even wet thyself.'
('if you truly felt as you claim—if your heart was truly without hesitation then you would have sank by now. This water reflects the will of those who stand on it. The master I serve lives in these waters. Sinking ever more even without a purpose. Yet you who claim to have can not so much as get soaked.')
Huh….this water. Mirrors how I feel. Do I actually not want to save Kano? The water stopped rippling. No— that's impossible. I know what I am feeling at this moment. She began floating, lifting from the water. She recalled his words:
"I wouldn't give you a fight I know you can't win."
Its another iron wall. It's towering in front of me and I can't climb over it. (No, that's not right) I can't make it over it—(No, I will just shatter it regardless of how strong it is)
She suddenly crashed into the water, sinking deeper and deeper. She attempted to swim, gurgling. Until, she eventually drowned.
~
Mèe rushed to check on Nèe. Seriously, he hasn't been moving for quite some time. He lifted Nèe's head, checking his pulse to see if the latter still drew breath. That vixen—what did she do to you? You are supposed to be the protagonist…and I, the deuteragonist. Nèe trembled. His body twitching still.
What do I do? The novel can't survive without the protagonist.
~
As far as sibling rivalry goes, Nèe and I have never had a grasp on such a concept. What makes people chase after one another with such fierce determination? Isn't that all part of fiction? Why do people try so hard to accomplish a goal? Why is it all so important?
I began to understand it the moment when Nèe asked me if I saw a dismembered man. I saw nothing—his world view and mime were the same yet he peered into a higher dimension. That was when I understood it….
As an avid reader, I was always quite fond of the chosen one trope. How they struggled to control their gift. How they rose to overcome each challenge. How they were incarnations of beings of old. All those things fascinated me. And, I found out that my twin, my other half, fit the criteria ever so perfectly.
It finally hit me, fiction is the basis of reality…and Nèe was meant to be the protagonist. I, his side cast.
"Mèe….Father said that since I am divinity sensitive, I must join the knights. Apparently he believes that I will rise to the rank of guardian before long." Nèe said, vines growing out of his eyes and ears.
"First of all, stop that it looks mildly disturbing. Secondly, he is not wrong…you do seem to have the gift," Mèe replied.
"But I am nothing special, I am scared to hell and back over the things I see. I don't have any grand ambition, I don't think I ever will."
He lacks confidence…..I suppose that is also part of the trope. He must develop an unbreakable spirit. [It was like I was witnessing my own novel through my eyes as a member of the side cast.] "Nèe, do you want me to come with you then?" Then I will be the one to give him a nudge in the right direction. A member of the side cast that the protagonist can trust on his journey. "I am sure father had the same thought.
You and great-great grandfather were a lot alike. People likened him to a senile man. He spoke of things they never understood and questioned the reality he spoke of. Yet, a few years later, he was classified as the unbeatable king of the forest. They began to liken him to an angel of the trees. You have his attribute and a similar gift as he, so I am not too worried. And if you slip up, I will be there to back you up." And I will witness your story as your deuteragonist. Because I am the older, and the older guide the young.
After only two years, two men came claiming they'd kill us. It took only an instant for them to be buried in your parasitic plants. Your definition of Ragnarök. Their life slowing fading before eventual termination. And like any older, I offered to kill one as their deaths should never only burden the protagonist. And thus, we became knight candidates as that was only a trial.
~
Come on, what can I do? If he stays like this, he is just begging to be killed. Right, in a moment like this, a protagonist needs some energy. I will just send him mine. I can liken it to jumpstarting a brain. If you perform a task too much and it becomes boring, you switch it up to gain more energy to complete it.
Twins usually have a special condition that makes our magic toxic to one another. More potent than anyone else's magic. To us, our other halves are the greatest poison in existence. If I pour my aura into his body, it should force him to release a burst of magic to force it out. Mèe placed his hand on Nèe's. I shouldn't hit any major node. A sudden pulse of aura rushed through Nèe's body, accelerating his blood flow among others.
A green aura coated his body as vines began emerging from his torso. Mèe placed him on the ground before jumping away. A dome of magic formed as the entire terrain was covered in vines. The vines coiled forming trees within a twenty meter radius of him. He coughed, regaining consciousness thereby fueling their growth and autonomy even more. Mèe picked up Kano's body and jumped past the river. Nèe is powerful, but I doubt even he can cross this river from way over there.
The vines that coiled Kano's body withered and died. At the center of the vines, he stood glancing through the surrounding.
"So that's where you are. Lightning girl." Before Mèe realized what was happening, he felt a palm placed on his back. "Move Mèe," he heard before falling into the river. Vines emerged from the ground before flashes of lightning barreled against it. Her shoes slid against the stony banks of the river.
"Green." She clenched her teeth grabbing tightly the hilts of the throwing knives she had in hand. I got careless, my parallel lines must have phased through him like before. He probably foresaw the future where I kill his brother. Exactly as I envisioned it in order to free Kano.
Vines coiled Mèe's foot and dragged him toward Nèe. He coughed, "It has been a while since I have seen you release this much magic. Nèe."
"Well, the need never truly arises. Also, Mèe, you always tell me never to start a fight at my best."
Mèe chuckled, That's only natural, protagonist never start the fight at their best. They fight a bit for a few chapters before whipping out their ultimate. He then shouted, "Let me introduce you, Miss. This is my brother, Nèe. And I am Mèe." A yellowish aura enveloped his body before he placed Kano on the ground.
The throwing knives that Tondra wielded became coated in a blue aura as light wrapped around their blades. She then heard a voice,
'Thou hast but ten minutes ere mine enchantment doth lay waste to thy flesh. My master's power endureth no longer than that.'