IT might as well have taken years for Olga Marie to answer her.
The silence was tense, painful. Each extended moment was just another means of pulling at her, like a rubber band ready to be snapped. She can hear her own heartbeat in her ears, and the rhythm sounds uneven, but she still does her best to logically parse out what it is Olga’s really saying. She needs to think about this logically. Like a mage — like a former Crypter.
Kirschtaria Wodime was here, in this city ( unknown island ? bounded field ? one hell of a reality marble ? … purgatory ? ). This is assuming, of course, that Olga was telling the truth; she may be casually cruel, but she wouldn’t be so petty as to lie about something like this. And it makes sense, really. Ophelia had already been wondering how else she would come to know all of this… But Kirschtaria had been the last person she would have theorized. This is where her logical train of thought, however, comes to an abrupt stop. Because she was a Crypter, and she did have a Lostbelt of her own. And so she knew what happened to those Chaldea ‘stopped’.
It was difficult to describe the emotions that flitted across her face accurately, seeing as they changed so rapidly. At first, it almost seemed like… Relief. The relief she felt entirely went to Mash Kyrielight; it was wrong, unfair, it tugged on her weary heartstrings — but to know Mash had to be alright, the woman who held her hand when she didn’t deserve it… It gave her a bizarre sense of warmth to know she was still moving forward. But then the weight of it hits her, and the price of Mash’s path contorts her delicate features. It was the sort of chill that made even her blood run cold, the slow-moving horror that dawned on her bit by bit — one at a time. Kirschtaria was here. Kirschtaria wasn’t just ripped out of time, brought to a different ‘possibility,’ because he specifically mentioned Chaldea was the cause. Chaldea has no issue with taking prisoners, but have yet to do so. Kadoc’s mysterious whereabouts spoke for themselves, and Ophelia’s fate wasn’t much better. There was no telling how many Lostbelts they visited before or after Kirschtaria’s, but the likelihood of him escaping with his life… And the final realization, of course: this place was full of ghosts.
Ophelia dropped her trash.
She’d forgotten she’d even been holding it. That had been why she came out here in the first place, hadn’t it ? How did it wind up like this ? Why does her chest hurt so badly ? One hand absentmindedly slides across her chest, as if the pressure might abate this tightening feeling. They’re outside, but she feels like this space is too small; she may as well be in the study, like always, on her knees before her mother and father. And she does sink to the ground — but she refuses to let the ground meet her knees. She refuses to cower with this knowledge, busying herself instead with picking up her trash. In the face of overwhelming information, Ophelia reverts ever so slightly back to her old self — and denies, denies, denies.
❛ No. ❜ No, no, no. ❛ Enough. There’s no use in speculating. ❜ No, no, no ! ❛ If Chaldea and Kirschtaria met, there is no telling what really occurred. ❜ Kirschtaria, not Lord Kirschtaria. Lord Kirschtaria had goals of his own, dreams he needed to fulfill, but Kirschtaria was flexible. Lord Kirschtaria had been born from omitted truths, but Kirschtaria would evaluate the situation and do what was best for his allies. Yes, Kirschtaria could have come out of that encounter alive. How much trash was in this bin ? Was it always this much ?
for one moment, one small fraction of time, she feels regret.
she did not need to say it. she did not need to say the words ‘ Kirschtaria Wodime is dead ‘. for one, she wasn’t even sure if that was the case– vague is what he gave her. it was unfuriating. but judging by how viscerally Ophelia had reacted, she can only assume that it was as close to the truth as she will ever get. in their world. he was no more. Chaldea had stopped him, but how? was his death truly by their hands? she is skeptical– Fujimaru and Kyrielight were not murderers. ( but then again, she did not know the horrors of a Lostbelt. what they were forced to endure, to do. it was a possibility and it makes her insides twist. ) was he hiding something? so many questions, so little answers.
and then, she wonders; is this how she reacted? when Lev had revealed that plan to her, mere moments before she was no more? refusing to go on her knees, but still being shaken to the core. and the denial. the denial that what was happening really was, that it was all the truth and not some lie to inflict harm. as she looks down at the former Crypter, busying herself with picking up the trash that tumbled out of the bag when it was dropped (doing anything, anything to spare her that heart-wrenching realization from gripping her, like the claws of a beast digging into its prey ) a thought crosses her mind.
her actions are slow as she drops to the same level as Ophelia, fingertips lightly pressing into the concrete below her– her own knees never touch the ground. no, she says. there’s no point in speculating, she insists. there’s no telling what really occurred, she says to convince herself. Olga had done that as well. denied the truth, even when it was right there. insisted that such was not possible. they were the same in that respect. same in so many more ( burned by the sun, hardly given a chance, a product of the world they were born into. ) they were the same and it makes that understanding from earlier sting all the more.
“ I am many things, Ophelia. Many, many things, but what good would lying do for a dead woman? Nothing. “
with one hand, she reaches out to pick up a crumpled piece of paper, dropping it into the bag. but not once does she take her eyes away from the other. “ If you don’t believe me, then go and find him. Ask him about what happened. But remember, Kirschtaria Wodime was Chaldea’s enemy. Someone standing in their way of completing their mission. Do you think he would come to a compromise with them? No. Not in the slightest. To restore proper history, his must be stopped. By any means necessary.” she stands up. she spares no other glance to the mage below her as she turns on her heel, intent to head back into the comforts of her bedroom. but– one last thing.
“ Ths is a city of ghosts, Miss Phamrsolone. And he is not above becoming one of them. “ and with that, she takes her leave, the only sound left being the fading tap of her heels against the pavement.
jacobvanloon
gummygunk
titsay
izzy806
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
