Second Jump : A Night(mare) to Remember
The first thing Ember became aware of was Ember nudging her awake, and not without reason. How could she have fallen asleep in the midst of battle, especially with the way the orcs attacked the fortress. They were no assassins like the Yagudo; they always came charging into battle like the blood-lusting savages they were. It ever changed.
Melusine was up in moments, racing toward the outpost. Ember flew along behind her, as always. There was no time to spare; her help was needed if the orcs were to retreat and the outpost was to be salvage. She skidded to a halt just in front of a white mage, whom was tending to a fallen warrior. "What's going on?!" Melusine demanded. "When did these savages arrive?!"
But the white mage did not respond. Deciding to question things later, Melusine drew her lance and lunged at the nearest adversary, only to be thrown back a good ten feet with a mere swat of its arm. Since when were orcs this powerful...?!
And then everything stopped.
Melusine gaped in awe. Time had frozen. Swords stopped in mid-strike, strewn beads of blood hung in mid-air alongside fired arrows. Then, space followed: warping and rippling like the water in the lake to the north. The sky shifted, becoming the same dark red tint that Melusine had seen in the time-between-times: the Walk of Echoes. The great maw of Atomos appeared moments after.
And then everything shifted. Now, instead of Jugner Forest, Melusine stood alone, in the Walk of Echoes. Ember was nowhere to be seen.
"You have failed him."
She spun around, seeking the source of the voice...but no one was there; no one but a younger version of herself, dressed in a light set of paladin's armor and armed with a shield and a sword.
"No matter how hard you try, your future is already decided. Changing the past does nothing."
"That was not my intent, Atomos!" Melusine shot back, though her hesitance was painfully apparent. "I-I only traversed this wretched place to help someone!"
"To help yourself."
"No! My father--"
And then she was back on the battlefield. The orcs were retreating, their leader dead, but the outpost had endured great damage. Many of the soldiers were wounded, and many more fallen, their limbs spread and limp like puppets cut from their strings, their eyes still wide open in their last moments of fear and their jaws gaping in silent screams of agony. Some still clung to their swords, even in death, others grabbed tightly to their shields, beaten or shattered as they might have been. One of those fallen was none other than her very own father.
Melusine began to reach out, to scream, to call out...but she knew it was no good. There was no saving him, and she couldn't just rewind time and fix things. Atomos wouldn't allow it, and she had no control over time in spite of the power Naoi claimed she had. He was gone.
Above the fortress, Melusine saw the familiar form of Cait Sith glancing at her before vanishing. Nodding, even though the regal feline would not see her, Melusine made her way to the rear of the fortress, where there were no people and minimal damage. She sat down, staring blankly at the ground in front of her, ignoring Ember's worried whimpers. She wasn't sure what to feel. She knew from the beginning that her father would die in this battle, she knew from the beginning that nothing she did would have prevented his death. Nothing she did would change the outcome of this struggle.
The war would not change.
The war never changed.
[[ ooc : so backdated it isn't even funny because hi, mun is made of fail. DX SORRY ABOUT THAT GAIZ ]]
Melusine was up in moments, racing toward the outpost. Ember flew along behind her, as always. There was no time to spare; her help was needed if the orcs were to retreat and the outpost was to be salvage. She skidded to a halt just in front of a white mage, whom was tending to a fallen warrior. "What's going on?!" Melusine demanded. "When did these savages arrive?!"
But the white mage did not respond. Deciding to question things later, Melusine drew her lance and lunged at the nearest adversary, only to be thrown back a good ten feet with a mere swat of its arm. Since when were orcs this powerful...?!
And then everything stopped.
Melusine gaped in awe. Time had frozen. Swords stopped in mid-strike, strewn beads of blood hung in mid-air alongside fired arrows. Then, space followed: warping and rippling like the water in the lake to the north. The sky shifted, becoming the same dark red tint that Melusine had seen in the time-between-times: the Walk of Echoes. The great maw of Atomos appeared moments after.
And then everything shifted. Now, instead of Jugner Forest, Melusine stood alone, in the Walk of Echoes. Ember was nowhere to be seen.
"You have failed him."
She spun around, seeking the source of the voice...but no one was there; no one but a younger version of herself, dressed in a light set of paladin's armor and armed with a shield and a sword.
"No matter how hard you try, your future is already decided. Changing the past does nothing."
"That was not my intent, Atomos!" Melusine shot back, though her hesitance was painfully apparent. "I-I only traversed this wretched place to help someone!"
"To help yourself."
"No! My father--"
And then she was back on the battlefield. The orcs were retreating, their leader dead, but the outpost had endured great damage. Many of the soldiers were wounded, and many more fallen, their limbs spread and limp like puppets cut from their strings, their eyes still wide open in their last moments of fear and their jaws gaping in silent screams of agony. Some still clung to their swords, even in death, others grabbed tightly to their shields, beaten or shattered as they might have been. One of those fallen was none other than her very own father.
Melusine began to reach out, to scream, to call out...but she knew it was no good. There was no saving him, and she couldn't just rewind time and fix things. Atomos wouldn't allow it, and she had no control over time in spite of the power Naoi claimed she had. He was gone.
Above the fortress, Melusine saw the familiar form of Cait Sith glancing at her before vanishing. Nodding, even though the regal feline would not see her, Melusine made her way to the rear of the fortress, where there were no people and minimal damage. She sat down, staring blankly at the ground in front of her, ignoring Ember's worried whimpers. She wasn't sure what to feel. She knew from the beginning that her father would die in this battle, she knew from the beginning that nothing she did would have prevented his death. Nothing she did would change the outcome of this struggle.
The war would not change.
The war never changed.
[[ ooc : so backdated it isn't even funny because hi, mun is made of fail. DX SORRY ABOUT THAT GAIZ ]]