Eternal Undying Chronicles

The bicorn appeared in a dark and desolate alley, its hooves clattering softly against the worn cobblestones as they materialized.

Alicarde could still hear the distant wail of sirens, a reminder that they hadn't teleported far. Wrath's teleportation abilities had their limits—long-distance jumps were draining, even short ones left the creature winded.

He suspected that their pact had weakened Wrath, especially since Alicarde had hardly been worthy of a familiar of its caliber. Only through Carrisa's blood and his cursed immortality had he managed to bend the rules.

The alley was forgotten, the kind of neglected corner of the city where time itself had stopped caring. No cameras, no curious eyes, just the remains of what had once been a lively area, now reduced to crumbling buildings and faded graffiti.

The colors had long since peeled away, leaving behind a patchwork of decay. The ground beneath them was littered with debris, fragments of a forgotten era.

Alicarde signaled Wrath to move slowly, the soft clop of hooves reverberating through the quiet. As they emerged from the alley, the evening sun's dim light cast long shadows over the rusted train tracks that crisscrossed the area.

There was an eerie stillness here, a calm that felt unnatural given everything that had just happened.

Anne had remained silent for most of the ride, her quietness filling the space between them like a weight.

Alicarde stole a glance at her, curious about her thoughts, especially after witnessing him wield magic.

It wasn't something he often resorted to—magic, for him, was more of an inconvenience. The chants, the mana control—it was all too slow for the fast-paced fights he preferred.

Still, he couldn't deny its usefulness. Magic was powerful, versatile, and, in the right hands, capable of turning the tide of any battle. But it wasn't a tool he liked relying on.

As he mused, Anne finally broke the silence. "Who are you, really? You're not al—"

"I am the harbinger of death," Alicarde interrupted sharply, cutting her off before she could finish.

Anne raised an eyebrow, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"I don't suppose 'harbinger of death' is your real name."

"No," he replied coolly, "it's not."

"Then what is your name?" she pressed.

"You seem to know about me, so the least you can do is tell me yours. You don't exactly inspire trust looking like that..."

He hesitated for a moment before answering, his tone soft but firm.

"You can call me Aeternus. It's my true name. It means 'the eternal' or 'the immortal,' depending on how you want to look at it."

"Aeternus," she repeated slowly, as if testing the name on her tongue. Find adventures at empire

"That's right," Alicarde whispered. "But don't tell anyone. By revealing my truename to you, I've laid bare my very essence. It's the ultimate mark of trust."

"Right… you're immortal," she said, her voice wavering.

"How did you become immortal, or were you always like that?"

Alicarde narrowed his eyes. "How did you know I was immortal?"

"I saw it," Anne admitted quietly.

"Saw it? How?" His curiosity was piqued.

"In a memory Petra showed me... everyone saw it."

Alicarde frowned. "I see... I didn't realize they had that kind of ability. No wonder she wanted to recruit them."

He understood now why Carrisa had changed her mind so quickly. Their powers were more valuable than he had initially thought.

"I wasn't born immortal," he continued, his voice dropping. "I used to be human, just like you. But I died, and when I did, I was brought back to life."

"Then... are you some kind of zombie or undead?" Anne asked hesitantly.

"No, I'm alive in every sense of the word. My resurrection was more like a rebirth than anything else. I was given a new name, a new purpose, and a new fate. For a time, I resisted it. I clung to my past, pretending I was still human, that the person I used to be wasn't dead. But that's not who I am anymore."

He tightened his grip on the reins, his voice hardening.

"I've accepted what I am. I've shed the weaknesses that used to hold me back."

"Is that why you kill people without a second thought?" Anne's voice was quiet, almost trembling.

Alicarde's expression darkened. "I kill those who deserve it."

"Then what about today?" Anne challenged. "Chrona, Petra, even Oliver—he was just a boy. You were going to kill them. That's not right."

Her words cut deep. Alicarde hesitated, the weight of what he'd almost done sinking in. Oliver had been a child, and yet he had been ready to kill him without hesitation.

"See?" Anne pressed. "You don't have an answer because you know you're wrong."

"I am not in the wrong," he insisted, though the conviction in his voice faltered.

"If I had killed them, so be it. Right and wrong are decided by power, and power is justice."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Anne shook her head, her voice filled with disbelief. "What if someone stronger than you kills you? Does that make them just?"

"Yes," Alicarde replied coldly. "It means their justice was greater than mine."

"Then by that logic, if someone kills me because they're stronger, it's justice too, right?" Anne's voice wavered with emotion.

"The espers who kidnapped me, the underworld that oppresses people like me—are they just too?"

Alicarde was silent, her words revealing a flaw in his reasoning.

"Listen to me," she continued, her voice trembling.

"I'm scared of you—of your power—but what scares me more is how you think. Don't kill people just because you can. Before you decide to end someone's life, ask yourself if it's worth it. Ask yourself what makes you so different from them."

Alicarde turned to face her, surprised by her courage.

"Try doing good for once," Anne said, her voice soft but steady.

"You saved me once. Why not use your power to save others too?"

"You don't know how twisted this world is," Alicarde muttered, his voice filled with bitterness.

"You can't imagine the horrors I've seen. Some people just deserve to die."

"Maybe I don't," Anne admitted, "but that doesn't mean you have to become like them. For every life you take, do a good deed. Balance it out, if nothing else."

Alicarde scoffed, finding her suggestion absurd. "That's ridiculous."

"Try it," she urged. "Maybe it'll help you remember what it means to be human, in fact make it your philosophy, Think twice. No think thrice and do good deeds."

"Do we have a deal?"

Alicarde found her persistence irritating, yet something about her words struck a chord. He didn't know why, but they did.

"Fine," he muttered, the words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. "We have a deal."

As Anne nodded, the last rays of the sun disappeared, plunging the world into twilight.