Starlit Dusk
To look up at the night sky and see it glimmer with foreign constellations was a loneliness Diana could have never imagined before Azoth.Leaning against a cool concrete wall, she imagined what sort of shapes these stars could make. She had never been too studious in her youth, which she now regretted deeply, but she remembered her grandmother pointing out clusters of stars to her. A great ox here, an arrow there—even back then, her eyes had been keen enough to see their starlight clearly. There was no time to look at the stars once the war tore through her village, and she had almost forgotten...
The shadows rippled to alert her of company long before she heard footsteps.
“Need any help with your, um—brooding?” Arisanna spoke kindly, leaning over towards Diana with wide, curious eyes.
“Hah, I suppose that’s what it’d look like.” Looking over at her, Diana saw the smudge of pale violet underneath her eyes. She’s overworking herself, she thought, but Diana had no right to scold her. “I was, uh, trying to look for constellations...”
“Oh!” Arisanna’s eyes lit up instantly, her hands coming together with childish glee. “Are you curious? I’ve been doing a lot of research on them!”
“Not re—...”
Arisanna’s sweet smile made the words wither in her throat.
They walked together to a little clearing with a bench, the young alchemist chatting away with infectious vigor as Diana tried to make sure Arisanna didn’t fall face first onto the pavement in her excitement. To anyone else, Arisanna appeared overbearing in her zeal, but Diana was always a willing captive to her lectures. For one, her words filled the silence, drowning out the increasingly intrusive thoughts that multiplied when in solitude. Also, unlike other Alchemists she had met, the young woman actually wanted the listener to understand her; Diana always felt a little smarter after their talks.
When Arisanna finished explaining one particular pattern, resting her hand on her chest with a satisfied smile, the night grew a little brighter.
“You’re amazing, Ari...” She sighed, looking up at the sky.
“Ah, this kind of stuff is nothing, really.”
“Predicting the future is nothing? Wow, shows what I know.”
“It’s not set in stone or anything.” Arisanna laced her fingers together anxiously. “The future belongs to those who make it.”
The memory of her gentle grandmother pointing out shapes in the sky flashed in her mind again. If her people had had this knowledge, would it have saved her family? Would she still have found herself in Azoth with the Gloamspire Lance strapped to her back instead of her bow and quiver? The choices she had made that led her here—sitting by Arisanna’s side in a foreign war, in a foreign world—seemed uncountable. If Arisanna’s words held true, then what did it mean for the future she’d made, its path veiled in shadows?
She hesitated to ask, but curiosity burned within her. “Can you do this in every world?”
“I think so, but that involves a lot of experimenting.” Arisanna put a finger to her chin. “We don’t know exactly how different worlds are from each other.”
“Hrm...”
Arisanna laughed a little at her disappointment, turning towards Diana. “But I do know that we always have the power to change our future, Di. Isn’t that wonderful?”
The words were meant to be comforting, but Diana’s hands turned slick with cold sweat, the darkness pulsing along with her heartbeat. Arisanna’s expression fell, her eyebrows furrowing with concern in the face of Diana’s silence. She saw Arisanna’s head tilt in question, but she turned away quickly.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t been feeling so good today.” Or recently, for that matter. “Just a little homesick.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie, yet Arisanna saw through the omission.
“Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk about that. You’ve been... distant lately, Di.”
“Like I said, homesick. And...” Diana gripped the edge of the bench tightly, avoiding her friend’s gaze. “General dread, I guess.”
“Like...?”
“Nothing, I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“I won’t tell a soul, cross my heart!” Arisanna traced a cross over her chest, smiling. “Come on, it’ll be better than sulking—”
“Arisanna—”
The name cut through the pleasant atmosphere sharper than steel and even colder still. From the corner of her eye, she saw Arisanna frowning, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.
On her back, the rifle burned hotter with each painful second, sapping the warmth from her body and leaving only a cold loneliness slithering in her veins. It was a familiar feeling to her now; the weapon did the same on the battlefield. It was always ravenous, feeding on her emotions until there was nothing but her heartbeat rattling in the cavernous void of her chest. She wanted to leave before she opened her mouth and said something she would truly regret; she wouldn’t be able to bear it if she pushed Arisanna away for good.
A soft, small warmth came to rest on her tensed hand. “I’ll be here whenever you want to talk about it, Di. We’re in this together.”
In the brightness of that moonlit promise, Diana saw a glimpse of hope.
Sunlit Night
Unlike most missions, Diana had been dragged out of the shadows with startling quickness.No—it was more accurate to say that Tonoris’ light was strong enough to banish even the deepest shadows, leaving her with no place to hide.
The Alliance’s army was weakening as the Obliviate sowed chaos throughout Azoth. Once a show of humanity’s strength, the populace began to resent their leaders, and the embers of unease burned through the dwindling support for the war effort. Yet even if it played right into the Obliviate’s hand, the Resistance didn’t have the luxury of choice once an opening in the Alliance’s defenses appeared. They quickly organized their most ambitious assault yet and aimed their sights on the heartland of Dorumegia’s power—the Dorumegian Foundry.
There, they would free Claude and secure the Mercurial Heart, and then crush their weapons production and intelligence gathering; the Automatons would suffer Dorumegia's unchecked production of fellow automata no longer. The Imperial Kaiser had obsessively limited Claude’s movements, imprisoning him in the factory alongside his research. The Kaiser’s reasoning only became clear when Dahlia revealed to the Champions the truth of the Mercurial Heart.
Fashioned after the human Dahlia’s mother, a special Automaton lay deep within the core of the facility—the source of Azoth’s revolution as well as Claude’s magnum opus: Rose.
If they could free Claude and Rose, not only could Dorumegia be forced into discussions, but Diana and Arisanna would be able to safeguard the World Seed and fulfill the Grand Archive’s mission. With this in mind, they decided that Arisanna would look for Claude, and Diana would secure their entry and exit.
Even if that meant she would inevitably confront humanity’s Aegis again.
The two of them knew of Tonoris, their paths having crossed violently many times before. Not only was he a famous mercenary within Azoth—one of Queen Cordelia’s strongest fighters, in fact—but the Grand Archive had also supplied them with information on all his previous missions into Azoth. Tonoris was a Champion, one of two who had been sent to resolve a previous war. After the conflict, his partner was reported dead, and Tonoris ceased answering all communications from the Archive—effectively going rogue. Thankfully, these gaps in the Archive’s knowledge had been filled in by Claude. He had been true to his word, providing the Resistance with information and briefing Diana on Tonoris’ abilities before their eventual clash.
The air inside the Foundry crackled with heat and energy. Once Diana set her sights on his blonde hair from the shadows, she found his form hazy and uncertain, as if looking through a heat mirage. Before she could take her shot, he summoned radiant swords and aimed them straight at her, forcing Diana onto the floor of the massive factory to avoid them.
“Face me head on, markswoman.” His voice held no malice as he waited for her to gather her bearings instead of overwhelming her.
Surveying her surroundings, Diana carefully responded. “How did you see me? You must have pretty good eyes.”
“Flushing out a sniper is easy: One need only aim for the shadows.”
Glancing around, Diana saw every alcove and crevice illuminated by brilliant swords, their blades impaling the walls. They were dissolving very slowly, flecks of warm golden light falling like embers.
She clicked her tongue; he had baited her into a corner. The emergency barricades had also been triggered—the exit behind her had whirred shut as he spoke—and Tonoris positioned himself between her and the scaffolding she needed to reach the second story. The metal walls of the industrial compound vibrated with echoes of distant activity, but that cavernous hallway was almost hallowed in its quiet. At least Tonoris was alone—meaning there was truth to the intelligence they collected. Dorumegia’s human forces were quickly dwindling without the vigorous support of the other Alliance members.
“Answer me this, Champion,” Tonoris spoke solemnly, activating a mechanism in his shield with one forceful thrust of his shield arm. “For what do you fight?”
“Don’t you know the answer to that? You, too, were sent here by the Grand Archive once.”
“I don’t want to hear about its goals. I know that one does not become a Champion without great sacrifice, and one does not sacrifice,” he spoke slowly, with emphasis, “without great strength of will.”
“For justice.” Instant, instinctual. The darkness pulsed steadily within her rifle as she condensed its energy into blighted ammo. “For the freedom of all of Azoth’s people, man and machine.”
With quiet resolve, he summoned two hulking automaton sentinels at his sides. Their brass armor glittered like gold in the glow of Tonoris’ power, and the air grew even warmer as their bodies whirred to life. It felt cruel to fight them after dedicating herself to achieving their freedom, but Claude had assured her beforehand that these were nothing but empty dolls unable to receive the Mercurial Heart’s blessing, magical constructs meant to fade into nothing once Tonoris’ magical reserves were spent.
“You fight for justice, and I for peace. Shame we could not work alongside each other.” Tonoris didn’t smile, yet despite his severity, he seemed to... understand. “We shall see whose will is stronger. Come!”
She shot once, twice, at his shield, watching carefully as each bullet made contact with a bright flash. Despite its blinding light, she found what she was looking for: Small cracks from the impact sprouted dark tendrils. Her curses worked against Tonoris. With her biggest concern quickly put to rest, she could start her assault in earnest.
Tonoris hunkered down behind his shield as Diana sprinted towards him, letting the loyal automatons swing ahead of him to cover her approach, but the sentinels were large and cumbersome. In their close proximity, they struggled to avoid hitting each other, making it easy to dodge the wide arcs of their blades. With one darkness-infused step, she found her footing atop his shield to launch herself into the air—aiming the rifle straight downwards.
Before clearing his head, she landed multiple direct hits on Tonoris’ shoulder.
As her feet touched the ground behind him, she shot cover fire while backing up closer to the scaffolding. The curses would sap his energy before long, but she wanted to take the high ground before he realized what was happening—before she could think any further on the terrible thoughts clouding her judgment. As if in response to her, the automatons beside Tonoris withered into motes of light in an instant. A hot, brilliant tempest swirled around him, serving to collect the flecks into brilliant orbs, almost blinding in their light.
Within the din of wild energy, there was a resounding clang, and when the shadows screamed at her to leap, Diana listened.
His sword cut through the whirlwind of energy to strike at the exact spot she had been standing in. Tonoris had cast aside his shield, likely realizing it would only grow to burden him the longer her cursed bullets worked their dark rot through his arm. It meant that there was little in between him and her rifle, but he would be much faster now. She rode the rush of adrenaline to the second story, the darkness guiding her feet through the mess of ladders and platforms, all while she heard his heavy steps rattling the structure, not far behind. She needed to end this quickly.
When Diana jumped past the apex to land on the platform, she raised her hand. In her open palm, darkness coalesced until it grew into a large and humid cloud capable of defying Tonoris’ resplendence, pulsing wildly like a heart about to burst. With one last glance back, Tonoris’ determined face peeking above the platform’s edge, she clenched her fist in triumph.
He let out a warped, guttural roar as he lost his footing. The cursed tendrils that had dug through his body burst in a wild flurry of dark spirits; black wisps and umbral flames rushed to escape from every wound and scratch. The force battered him against the railing and, in his torment, he fell.
Diana didn’t dare look down at the ground; she couldn’t bear to witness the violence she’d wrought. He had asked her to face him head on, but she had never agreed. Diana clutched at her head, darkness swelling in her mind, pressing against her temples as she heard the deafening rush of blood in her ears. No, this was her fault; she had played dirty, no better than what that wretched Tristan had done. This was his fault—this was her fault—he should’ve expected this from someone like her—everyone already knew what she was capable of. Champions came in all sorts; you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Diana.
What had the curses shown him? What horrors did he witness as he fell?
Despite the distance between them, his pained gasp reached her with cutthroat clarity. “Adrien...”
The room sank into darkness, his magic fading in his weakened state, but the pallid glow from the first floor told her he still lived. Diana gasped for breath, willing her heart to slow, fearing what would happen were she to lose control now, in the midst of their most important mission yet. The brief silence was shattered with explosions, the building groaning with their impact, and Diana spurred to action—Arisanna needed her.
As she disappeared past the emergency exit, she uttered a quiet plea:
“I’m sorry.”
Moonlit Dawn
Diana sat in the clearing of their headquarters again, looking for shades of her home among the foreign stars.It had become somewhat of a habit to sit there late at night. Insomnia had taken hold of her since her fight with Tonoris, and she theorized that the Gloamspire Lance’s parasitic nature had begun robbing her of sleep somehow, too. Whenever she managed to close her eyes, she was greeted by hellish landscapes—only when fully exhausted would sleep take her, however fitful it was. So she waited out the nights gazing at the stars. She’d become quite familiar with them now, giving her the added benefit of making Arisanna’s rambles on astronomy somewhat more comprehensible.
Looking up tonight, the clouds took even this small respite away from her.
The shadows quivered with the echoes of distant footsteps, and Diana knew Arisanna was on her way. The two had run into each other less and less outside of missions; Arisanna was working tirelessly to improve the quality of life for their Automaton comrades and further their understanding of the Mercurial Heart. In truth, Diana had been avoiding her, too.
There was the thump of an uneven footstep followed by a quiet “Oh no,” and on instinct Diana reached out to catch her friend with one hand and her precious cargo with another. Breathless, Arisanna smiled sheepishly up at her, and Diana quickly looked away as she straightened herself. Arisanna had grown so radiant as her abilities flourished in Azoth that Diana felt her gloomy companionship was like an inkblot spreading across white silk.
“Good save, aha...” Arisanna peered over at her nervously, barely visible in her periphery, as Diana tried to hand over the pouch she had caught. “Um, actually, that’s for you! I’m sorry for almost dropping it.”
Inspecting the small pouch, Diana saw that it was, somewhat clumsily, embroidered with a shooting star.
“It’s not much, sorry... But, um. Well, just open it first.”
Diana undid the ribbon carefully to find a strange mechanical pendant. It looked almost like a pocket watch, but its gears and hands did not tick.
“It's beautiful... but what is it?” She flipped it over, revealing an inscription set into the brass: May the moon light your way.
With a shy sort of happiness, Arisanna brought her hands together. “It’s an astrolabe! A simple one, not really for fighting or anything. I made it so you can inscribe it with constellations from different worlds! And, um...”
She righted the device on Diana’s palm, holding her hand over it to channel a bit of energy.
Before them, an orb flickered to life, the night sky glimmering within it like gems against a dark quilt. This was not Azoth’s sky, but—Diana’s eyes misted over, her heart lurching with a stuttering beat.
“Why did you—How?” Diana rubbed her eyes, willing them to focus. She could almost smell the night of her homeland, the damp evening breeze carrying the scent of rush grass and distant oaks, her grandmother humming beside her as they looked up at the heavens.
“I had a little help from past Arisanna.” She giggled. “I did a little research into your world before we came here... And I wrote notes! But, there are some constellations missing, I’m sorry. Still, if you remember other ones, we can work on completing it together!”
She was moved to silence, almost breathless at the sight. It was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her. “Thank you, Ari.”
Arisanna smiled warmly, and the same hope from their last meeting here burned brighter than ever within Diana’s chest. Quietly, Diana swore to herself she’d pay her back tenfold someday. They spoke about the device until dawn came, with Arisanna showing her how to manipulate the simple astrolabe. When the morning light pierced through the cloud cover and shooed them off to their quarters, sleep welcomed Diana with an unusually warm embrace, no shadows to haunt her rest.
Art by Solis
Written by apricot