The stale air of the silent hallway suffocated Medoria, pushing her against the floor. She drowned in the crimson carpet. Her heart squeezed itself, vomiting the air out of her lungs. She breathed in and out, but the unfathomable dread gripped her chest and deprived her of the airflow.
Her hand moved to cover her mouth as she gagged, but only empty air and saliva leaked out. Her pupils quivered as her tears burst through her eyelids. They tainted the carpet, forming a shape of a rotten cross where the mortals condemned and burnt the witch.
She coughed a vapour of blood and laid on her tears. The tranquillity of the hallway enveloped her and absorbed all sounds. The soft breeze grazed her sensitive skin, chilling her to her core.
She gripped her shoulders and scratched her skin with her nails, shocking herself out of the subconscious dread. She gradually calmed down and stabilized her breaths. The all-consuming terror vanished, and a soothing, serene mood set in.
She stared at her bloody nails, feeling the pricking pains on both of her arms. Though the blood dirtied her clothes and ruined her appearance, it reminded her that she hadn't died and could still feel pain. Her eyes swept across the hallway, flashing in thick confusion as she found the familiar gate in front of her.
It stood tall with its ominous shadow casting over her. Though its appearance was ordinary, the scent of death leaked out from its gaps. Behind it was the place where Medoria died, annihilated by an unnamed Authority who protected the Emperor.
Medoria lowered her head to check her body before she involuntarily trembled. A flash of her decapitated body loomed in her pupils and filled her with a terrible fright. The metal pillars stabbed her body and pinned her above the ground, hanging as her blood dripped down.
She collapsed onto the carpet again. Her sudden movement pushed out the crystal orb, which Princess gave her. It fell on the floor and echoed a screeching noise outwards. The ever-changing formation within it brightened as Princess's blurry silhouette manifested above it.
Medoria gazed into her dull pupils and spotted the cruel confusion in them. Princess closed her eyes and opened her mouth, sending out her last soundless speech before her body assimilated into the void.
"Medoria . . ." she said before the hazy bewilderment took over, and her mind ceased to exist. Her dull pupils grew bleak, and her expression regressed to a blank canvas, untainted and unmoved by all but the blissful emptiness.
Medoria reached out to Princess, but her motion scattered Princess into the void. A sense of loss crept into her heart as she hugged the crystal orb, pulling it to her chest.
Immediately she stood up. Her eyes bled in searing pain as she struggled to move towards the gate. Her heart loudly throbbed and threatened to explode in fear, but she ignored her shrieking instinct and stared with her eyes dried by fury at the gate, which led to the throne room.
"Mistress, I won't fail you," she whispered and pushed the gate open, ignoring multiple defensive formations imprinted on it.
The brightly-lit throne room revealed its natural features. The Emperor sat at the end of the room, his expression blank. The curtain of darkness continuously fell as the candles on the chandeliers faded away.
Medoria tossed the crystal orb forwards and leapt together with it. The ever-changing shade of light illuminated the surrounding and revealed the invisible metal rods. They hung on the ceiling and cast their shadow to the ground, pinning Medoria's shadow in its place. Their shadows resembled a wooden cross.
Medoria closed her eyes and let her instinct took over. She spun and moved her hands with the motion like the flow of a river. Her nails glowed azure as they grazed the oncoming metal pillars and cut through the invisible cords. Her footwork waltzed past the gripping hands which emerged from the darkness.
By concentrating all her Fons at her fingertips, she laid her defenceless body for the Authority to annihilate while using her nails to deviate the trajectory of the incoming projectiles. With Princess's gift, Medoria danced forwards, her mind drifting into the memory from the distant past when she waited for her Mistress to return.
As weeks went by, Medoria remained at the mansion, waiting for the news of her Mistress. Despite distracting herself by doing works, the passing of time was painful and sluggish. She couldn't remember when she broke, but she vividly recollected her moment of madness, where all hope vanished.
Using her title as the personal assistant of the Second Princess, she entered the imperial castle and went to the rotten tower, of where her Mistress always spoke. She ascended the worn wooden stairs and sat at the edge of the highest balcony, staring at the flickering stars of the moonless sky.
As the night approached its darkest hour, Medoria lamented her Fate from the beginning to the gradual end. She recalled her childhood, full of hunger and despair, to the moment her Mistress saved her, to this moment where all came crumbling down. Despite working her hardest to keep up with her Mistress, Fate still separated her from her Mistress.
She wept the burning tears. Her heart cracked as her body quivered alone in the chilly night. Her composure reverted to a young maiden, who had lost her only pillar to lean on. The scratching noises echoed in her ears as she leant forwards and let her body fell from the high of the tower.
In her fall, countless memories assaulted her mind. She felt the happiness and sadness accumulated throughout her life, from the first moment she applied her makeup, to the last battle, where she assisted her Mistress. These bubbles of emotions slowly burst and faded into blankness as Fate took them from her.
Medoria was a girl who lacked purpose and direction, always going through with the motion of her Mistress. Everything was for her Mistress, for she had given her life, meaning, and compassion. Now, Fate had taken her Mistress away, and so her reasons to exist disappeared.
A muffled crack pulled Medoria out of her memory. She was in front of the throne. Her right hand reached out to the Emperor as her eyes stared at his terrified face. Her left arm dropped from her shoulder as an infinitesimal nylon string wrapped around it and cleanly cut it.
Multiple metal rods pierced her legs and abdomens, yet she avoided getting stuck at her head or heart, giving her a precious moment to live. Her body suspended in the air with countless strings restraining her, hanging on an imaginary cross. Her mouth curved into a smile as blood gushed out, tainting her strangely pale skin.
Besides the Emperor, the nameless Authority revealed a hint of surprise through his serious expression. He caught her right hand and leant closer, looking at her blurry eyes.
"I didn't expect that you would be this crazy. Your recklessness baffles me," he said. "Answer me, what kind of spells did you use to predict my movement?"
"Mistress . . . I don't want to lose you . . . anymore," Medoria mumbled before her head drooped. Her body limped forwards as her eyes grew misty.
The dripping blood formed countless rivers on her skin. They circled her wounds and seeped into her dress, painting the silhouettes of ever-branching oceans. Her heart gradually came to a cold stop. Her body's temperature dropped.
"Gone is a potential Authority. It is your misfortune to choose the Fallen Princess instead of the Great Races," the nameless Authority said before he turned to the Emperor. "The Capital is now safe. We've eliminated all who choose the Fallen Princess. Such is the power of us Authorities."
He waved his hands. The invisible nylons and towering metal rods disintegrated into Divinity. They faded to the darkness and let Medoria's stiff body fell from her grace. Her descension accelerated as it approached the ground, filling her fleeting soul with a sense of familiarity.
At the boundary between life and death, Medoria felt the same anger and frustration as when she fell from the star-grazing tower. It swelled in her heart and exploded along her veins, bursting into every part of her body. Her mind screeched as her madness overwhelmed her grief.
That day, she, who had no talent for the Art of Fons, broke through the limitation of mortals and became an Arbiter at the blink of her death. Today, she attempted the same feat, hoping that her madness would result in another miracle.
As Medoria approached the ground, the air below her became viscous. Their quality turned milky and spread into a thick layer of mist, which supported her crumbling body for a safe, painless landing. From her fresh wounds, Fons poured out and enveloped her skin. The azure liquid expanded and melted into her, turning her body semi-transparent and magical.
The nameless Authority froze before he pointed at Medoria. A gigantic metallic sphere manifested around her and enclosed the surrounding. Countless spikes and blades shifted through the invisible gaps in between the surface. They cut Medoria's murky body into an azure mist. She immediately reformed afterwards.
Her droplets adhered to the blades and transmuted them into her Fons, spreading herself onto the metallic sphere and assimilated them into her body. Her consciousness permeated the ocean of slimes and controlled them as her body.
The Authority gripped his palm and pulled it closer. The floor in front of him cracked and ruptured, spewing a swarm of spiked chains. They intertwined and formed a spiral tower, whose peak twisted like a cunning snake.
It crashed against the sea of slime, but its power immediately dissolved and became a part of Medoria, whose awareness spread across her magical substance. From the azure ocean, a humanoid-shaped viscous liquid emerged. Though lacking the organs, her silhouette and appearance resembled her human self.
Medoria raised her watery head skywards. Through the darkness below the ceiling, she saw the world gradually shrank in the presence of the all-encompassing mass of infinity. The Originator manifested before her and descended downwards.
The nameless Authority took a step back and stared at the Originator in fear. His body trembled before he wrapped himself with his chains and disappeared from the spot. The chains also extended towards the frozen Emperor and swarmed his body, but Medoria's magical vapour decayed them into her slime.
The Emperor found himself drowning under the vast blue sea. He tried to scream, but the viscous slime gushed into his mouth and filled his lungs with liquid, silencing him into a painful death. His body dissolved into pure Fons and became an insignificant part of the ocean.
Medoria didn't care about the Emperor. Her eyes fixated on the surface of the Originator, from where a blurry maiden emerged. She passed through the smooth membrane and fell towards Medoria. Her flat, dazed gaze shook Medoria to the core.
Though the maiden lacked life and soul, Medoria instantly recognized her. She reached out for the Originator, her slimy body extended upwards, propelling her to the sky, yet the ceiling was infinitely distant, forever out of her reach.
At the middle of the ocean of Fons, a translucent core condensed, packing within it a speck of Divine Fons. It gathered at the centre and compressed into insignificant, shifting its essence from nothing to eternal.
All parts of Medoria congregated at the core, morphing it into a part of the fabric of reality and integrating it into her soul. Her consciousness achieved wholeness, anchoring her fleeting self within the bubble of existence.
Countless Threads of Fate manifested around Medoria, filling her vision with their intricated designs. They represent her Fate, from the moment she was born to the very moment she died. As she admired the mystical scenery, the Originator moved and remained in front of her.
At its surface, Princess reached out to take the last Thread of Fate and relinquished her control over the new Authority. Her soft, delicate hand touched Medoria and severed the Thread of Fate which connected both of them.
