"Moonlit Void is an infinite field of light that is generated from the moon above and forged into the very ground that we stand on. This spell of mine is often used to travel through the sea of light, and when I use it, I often have to add in a Vow that targets specific people. In this particular case, the targets I used were those who held a connection to a dragon. Davi has made it his mission to hunt such a beast down, and so, of course, he'd be brought here with me, but for you to end up here also must mean that you are a witch."
Olivia struggled to listen to what Evelyn was saying, but it was pretty difficult since the woman was doing anything but sit still.
Every mid-word, Evelyn would shift her body and rise or drop from the air. She floated freely as if she were in water and circled Olivia like a shark about to strike.
Some people might find such a thing intimidating, but Olivia was struggling to hold back her fangirling. This was her Knight. The one who had saved her, the one she looked up to the most, and the one who had inspired her to become a Knight herself. She could still recall the time Evelyn slayed all the Hell Hounds, saving her and the village she had wandered into, as well as how Evelyn fixed the village up with a wave of her wand and then personally took her back home.
Her Knight was floating through the air, gazing at her.
Damn, when did she become such a simp?
"I'm right, aren't I?" Evelyn's voice caused Olivia to pay attention once more. The silver-haired woman reached out and pressed a finger to Olivia's cheek. "You're a witch, aren't you?"
"Y-yeah." Olivia nodded sheepishly. "That was what I was told by one of my guildmates."
"How interesting. What color are you?"
"Color?"
"I am the witch of white."
"Oh? I think I'm red." Olivia shrugged. "I remember being called the Witch of Red once at least."
"Oh. Red. Such a lovely color." Evelyn giggled and ran her fingers through Olivia's hair. "I would have thought with hair like this you'd be like me, but you do possess those pretty ruby eyes, so maybe your color isn't wrong. Red often means the color of love. They say that a Red Witch is someone who longs for love and that they come from the dragon who did everything for love."
"A dragon who did everything for love?"
"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know, would you?" Evelyn hummed and removed her hand from the flustered Olivia. "The Nobles often hoard such details for themselves. You see, most of us 'witches' only contain fragments of the DNA of the dragons from long ago. This is because the dragons all died out after being hit by a curse from King Sylas and then further hunted down by Haru and her Knights. Since the dragons were wiped out to such an extent, only a handful were even able to have kids and pass on their bloodline. The witches of today can trace themselves back to specific dragons, and your color determines which dragon you come from."
"And the witch of red means I'm the descendant of a dragon who did stuff for love?"
"Dragons had many titles and names. Sometimes their names would go on to change, but often their biggest title would be based on what they did the most. Most of our records on the dragons are faded and lost to time, but the dragons we do know existed were the great Dragon of Roads, who represents the color white and brings forth an endless blizzard; the great Dragon of Love, who represents the color red and brings forth a never-ending sea of blood; and finally, the great Dragon of Stories, who represents the color black and brings forth the ink that colors the blank page. I am sure there could be other dragons as well, but I've never met a witch who was a different color. It is always those three. Red, black, and white. Maybe I should introduce you to the current witch of black—oh, sorry, I'm rambling."
"I-It's fine," Olivia assured. "Honestly, I'm glad you told me that. I wanted to know more about the witches and the dragons for a while now." For a moment, her mind drifted back to what Maya said. "Do you know about the seven?"
"The seven?"
"Yeah. It is related to something called Ro-" Olivia stopped when she felt something starting to creep into her chest. Even here, she wasn't free to speak her mind. "I mean, it has to do with the Dragon of Roads guy you mentioned. Like a place he guards."
Evelyn clicked her tongue and smiled. "Oh, I think I understand now." She turned away and floated over to Davi. "There once was a great and powerful being. This being wanted to follow in the footsteps of Haru, for it is every living creature's desire to become the next Haru, and so he tore out seven pieces of himself, and he imbued them into targets throughout time and space, weaving a story that would be told, allowing these seven people to come together. He did this so he could travel to the gates of Rome."
"So you already know about all that?"
"I do, but many others don't." Evelyn placed a finger to her lips and winked. "Let's keep that a little secret. People can come to drastic conclusions, and even the Knights might be more interested in reaching Rome than protecting the seven if they learn everything about them. I'd rather keep Davi safe." Evelyn reached Davi's bed and ran her fingers through his hair.
Olivia felt a little uneasy as she watched her ideal pet, Davi. "You know Davi?"
"Of course I do. I brought him here to help heal him because Davi and I go way back."
"You do…"
"Oh, don't feel bad about not being told. He couldn't tell you even if he wanted to." Evelyn giggled.
"He couldn't?"
"Davi here is very special. He's not too special, though. You and I are a lot alike. We're people who come from greatness and were born for greatness. A legacy that we'll one day grasp ahold of and reach our potential. Davi is sort of the opposite. He inherited something not from greatness, nor is he destined for such an end. He serves more like a valuable pawn."
Olivia felt her hand suddenly clench into a fist. "Davi isn't a pawn!"
Evelyn's smile grew larger, and without warning, she floated back over to Olivia. "Why don't I let you in on a little secret?" Her arms wrapped around Olivia's neck, and she leaned in, whispering quietly. "That great and powerful being I spoke of earlier… He separated himself into seven pieces and placed one into seven different pawns. Not even I know why he picked the people he did, nor do I know who they all are, but I do know he placed himself among these people in order to keep on living so he could ensure his chances of achieving his goal were at the maximum. The thing is, the whole 'placing oneself into someone' was a skill this great being had to learn. It isn't one just anyone has. In fact, besides this great being, only one other person had the ability to do this. Any guess at who it was?"
"Haru?"
"Ha! Well, I bet Haru could, but no, it isn't her." Evelyn ran her hand up along Olivia's stomach, stopping just shy of a breast. "It was the one who lurked in her shadow and held resentment for her. The creator of demons, the damned one, and the evilest of horrors. The Ebony Knight."
Olivia felt her mouth go dry. "You're saying he tried to reach R- He did what the great being was doing?"
Evelyn shook her head. "No. Not exactly. The Ebony Knight is as far away from being a saint as you could get. Even should he have separated himself into seven pieces and somehow found the path that led to the land above, he would have never been able to become something akin to Haru. His reasoning for separating himself was much simpler. He did it to live."
"To live?"
"In the final battle with Haru, they say his body was critically injured. He only managed to get away thanks to the help of a lone dragon who carried him back to Mordheim. The rest of the story that people know claims that he died alone, unable to recover from the wounds Haru left upon him. That part is true, but what only 'I' know is that there is more to this story. As the Ebony Knight began to die, he created a Vow. Using the rest of his existence, his mana, and his very being, he forged a sword of absolute darkness. A blade known as Mana's Love. This sword took the form of a blue blaze, yet it held the chilling power of an infinite abyss, able to freeze even the planet itself hundreds of times over. Its power would never be unleashed, however, as the mere act of creating this blade killed the Ebony Knight."
Olivia nodded almost in a trance. She had heard the story of the Ebony Knights' downfall, but never this part. They say he fought Haru on the surface of the moon, and he ran away, riding on the back of a dragon that served directly under the first dragon emperor, Sigurd.
None of the stories ever claimed anything about a magical sword. Then again, she was starting to think that there was a lot that the public wasn't told about. After all, only the elites seemed to know about Rome, all hoarding the knowledge for themselves, but why?
Evelyn continued to speak. "The Ebony Knight would never wield such a blade, but that didn't matter, for its mere creation did something else." Her hand finally moved up, and Olivia gasped as it ghosted over her chest. Evelyn pressed her finger hard and felt the beating heart beneath Olivia's flesh. "King Sylas was a madman—one who turned his own people into weapons. Many elven items hold the souls of the elves. The Ebony Knight did something similar but to a much stronger extent. He placed all that he was into Mana's Love, and in a way, he became the sword. It was his very heart. This blade has a unique power. It can be inserted into someone, and if given enough time, it'll be able to take them over." Evelyn looked back at Davi.
Olivia's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what the woman was saying. "No!"
"Yes." Evelyn let out a mock sigh.
"You can't be serious. You mean Davi has that in him?"
"Tragic, isn't it? Even more so by the fact that his own mother placed it into him."
"What!" Horror flashed onto Olivia's face.
"Quite horrible, right?" Evelyn stroked Olivia's hair. "Many people seek a way to reach immortality, and his mother was one of them. She found Mana's Love, and being a master of enchanting as well as possessing an acute knowledge of Cores, it didn't take her long to enforce her own will onto that blade. She etched her soul in its place, and so now her spirit would live on in whoever it was placed into. That meant just one thing. She needed a new body. I don't know how many children she made, but eventually Davi was born, and he now holds the sword within him."
"B-But he's still Davi, right?" Olivia asked. "Like, is it still him? So the sword failed?"
"Yes, but that is something that won't last forever." Evelyn hummed. "Titania's will resides in the blade, but its power has dulled and been used up. It attempts to grow and influence him, but Davi has been able to withstand it. Should the power keep growing, it will win, and his mother's soul will overwrite him. He'll cease to be, and Titania will have her new body. Or maybe it'll be the Ebony Knight. Who knows? They're both in there now, fighting for control. Luckily, that is where I come in." Evelyn looked into Olivia's eyes and gave a wide grin. "I'm keeping Davi safe."
"You're keeping Davi safe?" Olivia felt a bit of hope. She had been worried Evelyn might have been a bad person or something, but it seemed like she was helping Davi. "How?"
Evelyn grabbed Olivia's wrist and brought it up to her throat, allowing Olivia to feel her neck. "That great being learned how to leave pieces of itself behind thanks to Titania. Davi's mother somehow discovered a way to summon this being, and in her greed, she attempted to take it over, for with its power, she would truly be Godlike. It proved to be too strong and was able to escape her attack. It is thanks to this event that Mana's Love is so weak, as it burned through most of the energy within it, trying to take the great being over. The great being was badly injured and forced to flee, but with the new knowledge of the soul that he now held, he split himself up. One of those pieces hides within Davi. I have one as well."
"You're one of the seven?"
"Indeed. I inherited his voice, and so I can speak on his behalf. Those who hold pieces often end up together, and so it is of no surprise that Davi and I traveled alongside one another for several years. With my ability, I was able to help keep his mind intact and ensure the blade within him doesn't take him over or grow. Every now and then, I feed him some of my mana in order to ensure he stays in tip-top shape."
"You feed him your mana?"
"We have sex."
Olivia felt her face explode with heat. "O-Oh."
"I've kept Davi safe, but sadly, I can't stay too close to him at all times." Evenly's look shifted into a slightly sad one. "I have my own duties to attend to, and also, I don't want Davi to come to rely on me entirely. I want him to be free and live a life where he can surround himself with people that he likes and cares for." Her hands grasped around Olivia's, and her smile returned. "That's why I am so grateful for you."
"For me?"
"You've helped Davi out a lot. I can tell. He must care about you a lot if he allowed you to be so close to him. I'm sure he has so many things he'd like to tell you, but he can't. All because of his mother." Evelyn shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Thank you for taking care of my Davi."
"I don't really think I did a lot," Olivia admitted.
"Would you like to help him more?" Evelyn tilted her head to the side.
Olivia's look grew serious, and she nodded her head. "Of course I do."
"May I ask why you want to help Davi so much?"
Olivia glanced toward her sleeping friend. "I care about him. I-I like him. He's a little odd at times, but that's kind of cute, and he's a good person. He saved me. He saved my village. He was there for me when I lost them, and he promised to help me. In a world where everyone mocked me, he was there to give me a helping hand when I needed it most. I've grown to respect and care for him a lot."
"And would you risk your own life if it meant helping him? Even if the way to do it would involve you dying?"
Olivia hesitated for a moment. "I do like living. I guess if I had to give my life up so that someone like Davi could keep being in this world, I would. He… He is someone I am confident can make better use of my life than I ever could. So yeah, I wouldn't find that to be the ideal scenario, but if it came down to a choice, I would."
"You're so perfect." Evelyn leaned in and got closer and closer, almost as if she were about to kiss-
Olivia's eyes widened in shock as Evelyn's lips met hers. She didn't blush or gasp, nor did she pull away or kiss back. She was utterly shocked as Evelyn kissed her deeply, like how a lover might. She was totally caught off guard and unable to stop as Evelyn's arms wrapped around her waist.
When the kiss finally broke, Evelyn let out a pleased hum. "Yep. You'll do just fine."
"W-What?" Olivia's face finally heated back up, and she stuttered, processing what just happened. Her idol kissed her? The Evelyn kissed her? Why? It wasn't like she was against it; she liked girls as much as she liked boys, and she secretly dreamed of getting to kiss Evelyn, but this wasn't a dream. This was real life. "Why did you do that?" Olivia squeaked out.
"Why not?" Evelyn's arms finally left her waist. "We both love Davi."
"L-Love?"
Evelyn rubbed her lips with her thumb and giggled. "We'll need to figure out how to share him later. I had him all to myself in the past, and now you get to spend the most time with him in the present, so I guess it is evened out now, but what happens in the future-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're talking a lot of nonsense here." Olivia raised her hands and shook her flushed face. "You're making it sound like we're part of Davi's harem or something! Way too cheesy for me. This isn't a bad romance novel, is it?" She tugged on her collar, suddenly burning up. "B-Besides, how do we even know what Davi wants?"
"Good point." Evelyn tapped her chin. "We'll have to ask him when he wakes up, I guess. Dibs on being wife one, by the way." She then shrugged her shoulders. "Until then, let's just agree to do our best when it comes to keeping Davi safe. You want to do that, right?"
Olivia took several moments to calm herself down. Was this all really happening? This felt super weird. Once her heart did settle, she rubbed her forehead, trying to clear the oncoming headache. "Yeah. I want to help Davi. Is there anything I can do?"
"As a matter of fact, there is." Evelyn began to slowly walk towards Davi, finally landing and no longer floating. "In the future, there will be a role for you to play."
"It isn't wife number two, is it…"
Evelyn laughed. "No, no, this is something else. A very, very important role."
"What is it?"
"I can't say. At least not right now." Evelyn finally reached Davi and once again petted his hair. "What I will say is that it has already started. The build-up to the role, that is. All you have to do is very simple. You just have to keep staying by his side and do your best to support him. Show him your love."
'And when the time comes, die in his arms.'
Evelyn kept that part to herself. She gazed down longingly at Davi and leaned toward him, kissing his lips. "Soon. You'll be perfect." She kept going down until she reached his ear. Her eyes flickered with a blue glow, and her throat began to shine. "It's time to wake up, Davi. Open your eyes and return to my side."
And with the power of the voice, she woke him up.
***
"Sieg, Sieg, Sieg!"
Sieg's eyes snapped wide open, and he groaned as Ken smashed her hands down into his stomach. "What!" He growled, shooting up. He was sound asleep in one of the rooms the Shining Sentinels provided him, but he barely got any rest before she barged in here. "This better be good-"
"Evelyn's here," Ken gasped out. "That woman you told me to keep away from Davi!"
"What!"
"She's sort of with Davi right now…"
"What!"
"Also, she took Olivia…"
"What!"