Melina saw all the world steadily fade as the hand grasped hers. At first, she thought she stood inside an infinite abyss, but the longer her eyes focused, the more it was clearly not vacuous. It was simply... unfinished. An infinite space of unfinished energy and matter. Her eyes could barely comprehend the very idea of it beyond a seemingly vast blackness that crackled randomly with a dark purple majesty. She felt weightless and yet crushed. Free floating yet still. Time itself felt absent here.
"Welcome to the Void." A gentle voice said as a figure slowly came into focus. Melina's eyes seemed to be able to see her in clarity, yet she would be remissed to say where the light source came from.
She was a shorter woman, perhaps barely taller than the head of a wolf. She had long and well maintained curls that reminded one of freshly mined gold, devorated with a circlet that seemingly was made up of the broken shards of knifes. She was drapped in a shimmering black gown that seemed to lightly clink whenever she moved her hips, and when Melina caught the right angle, she swore it was some kind of layered plate. It had an oily iridescent blackness that reminded one of raven feathers, and it seemed to flow similarly at the skirtline by her pale knees. She was a petite thing, but the pride in her stance spoke volumes to her talents despite the softness of her arms. Then, there were her eyes sparkled with an all too familiar glow. Glacial blue.
"Those eyes..." She muttered lightly in surprise.
"Guess you know, Mom." She gave this wild grin that practically screamed of savagery, and it should have contrasted her prestine, round, girly face. Yet the way her smile dipped into dimples and her eyes got wide and sparkly made what should have been malicious almost seemed exciting.
"I... Luna...?"
"I am her eldest daughter, Sarah." She gave a warm smile and shook Melina's hand quickly with a giggle. "I am the Death of Innocence." She gave a tender smile.
The dots finally began to line up for Melina hit her like a brick. "Luna is..."
"Mhm. Don't worry, she's just there primarily for-"
"Mother..."
"Oooo... You are one of her babies, arentcha? I am so sorry."
"She isn't going to kill her, is she?!" Melina was furious.
Sarah seemed to sweat a little, which did not help Melina's temperament. "Wait! Wait, wait!" She tossed her hands up in a mock gesture of surrender. "Not anymore!"
"Not... Anymore?" Melina slowly quirked a brow. "Hold on.. just... where am I? Why am I here?"
"Well, you grasped the living shard of our power in your world. The black flame of death. Normally, it would kill you, or if you had enough will, hurt but empower you. You, though. You feel almost like your flesh was made for flame's kiss, but it was made to succumb to it. I don't really like that, and Mom left me in charge of guarding this thing incase someone tried to snatch it. Its former guard is finally at peace. Mom doesn't want his sacrifice being besmirched. Her true, self.. uhm..." She started sweating as the chronological loopytyloop of multiple identities began to really show its communicable struggle.
"So there is True Luna, a, God, and there is the mortal part, here." Melina reasoned out.
"You got it!"
"Why." Melina said flatly. Sarah felt like she had had a small anvil dropped on her by that one word, and she was struggling to really explain.
"So mortals and rheir worlds have rules. We can get involved, even if they aren't specifically tied to our realm, but only in severely weakened states without time for our powers to unwind, breathe, or restore naturally within a place. It's considered a way to ensure no one god becomes too powerful."
"Has it worked?"
"Ehhh... I didn't write the rules. I'm only 287, whatcha want from me?" She sassily snapped, hands on her hips.
"No wonder you almost resemble a child." She scoffed with a cross of her arms. Sarah fumed at that.
"Hey! It's not my fault!" She almost looked ready to cry for a second. "I'm a child centered aspect. It's not my fault!" She sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry... Part of divinity makes you... Tempermental, even when you don't wanna be."
"That.. sounds horrible." She turned, a little more sympathy in her voice as she looked at the girl.
"But, yeah. Mom was sent here to give your mom the grand tour of her own bullshit before making her a red smear on the wall. At least, that's what Grandmom told Mom."
"Told her. Who is... Grandmom?"
"Life. Well, retired, but the original life."
"..."
"..."
Both stood for a moment. Melina processing just how close to utter oblivion this meant Marika had gotten, and admittedly, she was only remorseful to it thanks to this journey. Sarah quietly fluttered about awkwardly as she seemed a little too accustomed to giving life shatteeing news.
"And... ahem. The, real plan?"
"I kinda think Grandmom always planned them to become a thing. Iiii just don't think she expected so much of your world to kinda... buckle like it has cause ofnher interference."
"Buckle?"
"The big ass crack in your country, the way your magic has gotten so messed up. Mom may not be intending it, but her presence there is causing her realm of divinity with every victory to overtake the Land's between, and this Miquella asshole is ironically the only thing keeping it at bay."
Melina gave a slow, dry gulp as the words ran through her. "So... if Miquella dies..."
"...I am sorry, Melina. This place... it will either continue a cycle of constant stagnant rebirth, or die. We have seen where a cycle like this leads before." She sounded somber, pained to talk of it. She turned, opening a hand to a vast shining palace illuminated by shining knights in gleaming armor. Great paintings adorning nearly every wall, and statues to great gods of their age on every pillar and corner. A great flame burns at the heart of this palace, kindling away with raging divinity as a great king stands before it, his visage like aged thunder. Booming, pale, and dominating.
"This place... what is it?"
"It was called Anor Londo." She said sadly as time steadily rolled forward. Melina watched in grim horror as century after century, piece after piece, kingdom after kingdom, the majesty of the flame, and its palace was reused and destroyed time and time again. Then, nothing was built again. Now, all she saw was an endless sea of ashes and sand and nothingness.
"This is what will become of the Land's Between, of all of you, if this place continues as it is." She slowly closed the portal, sighing tenderly.
"And... what becomes of the people?"
"Those like you and your trusted will likely be brought Home. Others that can still be saved or healed will be taken and distributed slowly on sanctuary worlds where they can continue their lives and cultures peacefully."
"You... have done this before."
"...Some skills gods possess come only from the sheer time and tasks we have to do to save lives. Most are too lazy to intervene at all. My family helps as much as we can manage. No one deserves to just be... forgotten."
"No one does." Melina answered. "Then, why am I here then? Why did you not show yourself to Morgott or Miquella?"
"I was actually gonna just let this shard go boom when Mique-boy got it as a big fuck you, but your friend kinda did the whole heroic sacrifice bit." Sarah sighed. Melina felt her heat rising. "It's not that it wasn't smart with the info she had. You two had no clue I was in here. Still makes me feel bad for not having been able to warn her."
"As do I..."
"But, I have a way better plan now with you here."
"Me?"
"Oh yeah, candle girl." She gave that wide grin as her body began to dissipate into nothing but swirling black flames. "Let's get you a swrious firepower upgrade!"
Melina felt the flames surge into her, but they never once hurt. "I'm just lending you this, somyou better give it back!"
The world began to return to Melina's eyes as she stood once more in the horribly shredded arena. Her eyes felt wider, sharper, more aware of her surroundings. She looked down tonher fingers and found long markings along each arm like the whipping, winding curl of a flaming tornado made entirely out of black ink.
She flexed her arms and felt the flames dance across her flesh, black and all consuming to light. Yer, they did not burn her. To her, they were as warm as a lover and as natural as a piece of her to extend now.
"I am coming, little brother." She smirked.