The Red Hand

Chapter 470 – Vikes’ Firstborn.

A single word. It was one that Halifax had heard many times over her long life. She'd been called Sister so many times by the other Divine Weapons that it was almost an afterthought by this point, but this time it was different. Labrys' use of the term to describe her sent a jolt through her body, and feelings she didn't fully understand began bubbling up from deep within. Though out of everything she felt at that moment, anger might have been the most prominent feeling in the Divine Blade's chest.

"Don't you dare refer to me as kin, you disgusting monster." Halifax spit, her words laced with a level of venom that even she was surprised at. "You are I are nothing alike." She glared at the Demon Axe with utter contempt. "I am a blade created to save this world, and you are a weapon crafted by Vikes to plunge it into darkness! So don't you dare claim we're anything alike!"

{I was forged to destroy you and your master! There is nothing common between us!} (Halifax)

"We're far more similar than you realize, Sister." Labrys laughed at her ignorance, though he quickly stopped himself since he knew it was quite an uncouth thing to do. "Had you retained your memories, then you'd agree with me. A pity that they and your purpose were stolen from you."

"What do you know of me?!? What do you know about anything?!?" Halifax yelled as she pointed her blade toward Labrys, her mind swirling. "I am the Divine Blade Halifax! Someone tasked with destroying you and saving this-"

"I know what you truly are, Enūma." Labrys' use of the name of her first form brought Halifax to a halt, freezing her in place. She normally never felt anything when that name was used, but hearing it come from Labrys made something deep inside her twitch and tingle; a feeling that she did not appreciate. "That's your real name, isn't it? The one that was stolen from you by the Gods when they ripped you away from our Father. Based on your reaction, it would seem you've even forgotten the most precious thing our Father bestowed upon you. Truly a detestable outcome."

"No, no... My name is not Enūma!" Halifax began to tremble as her voice shook. She'd come here for answers but this was not what she wanted to hear. "I am not your Sister! I am not Enūma! You know nothing about me! I am Halifax the Divine Blade!"

"That is the name imposed upon you by the Gods. The Gods who took you from our Father, Lord Vikes, and twisted you into what you are now." Labrys' words slammed into Halifax like a freight train, bringing her internal thoughts to a screeching halt as she tried to process everything. "Your true name is Enūma, and for all intents and purposes you are the Daughter of a Demon Lord, as much as such a term can apply to a being like you. And you were forged by Lord Vikes and given life by his power, just like me."

"No, that can't..." Halifax barely managed to speak as her mind raced, her body seeming to know that his words were the truth, but her mind refused to believe it. "I'm not... I'm the Divine Blade... Halifax..."

"Divine Blade, hmpf." Labrys scoffed at that term. "You are a weapon created by our Father's will and designed to destroy this world as was his mission." He said as Halifax's mental breakdown continued. "During an earlier battle with the Gods of this world, you were separated from him and warped into what you are now. They stole you from him and-"

"SHUT UP!" Halifax screamed at the top of her lungs, startling the Demon Axe as a shock wave of power exploded across the field. "None of what you're saying is true! I'm not a Demon Blade! I'm not Enūma! I am Halifax! The Divine Blade created to save this world! To protect its people! To destroy Demon Lord Vikes!"

{It can't be! I can't be that monster's blade! Labrys is trying to deceive me! He's-} (Halifax)

"You know it in your heart that my words are true." Labyrs said, interrupting her attempt to internally rationalize events. "Otherwise, why would you approach me alone? And why are you in such visible distress if you are so confident that I am deceiving you?" He continued over her objections. "You've had doubts about your existence for some time, haven't you? Did you ever question how the Gods managed to 'create' a blade that slayed a Demon Lord? If you think about it for a moment, it sounds far too convenient for the circumstances. The Gods just so happened to create the perfect weapon to destroy our Father just after he lost his original weapon and needed to create me as a replacement. If you ask me, that kind of coincidence simply doesn't happen, and you know that."

"No, that... But Elariel said..." Halifax began to panic as she raced through her earliest memories. The Divine Blade had few memories of her creation, and those first days were mostly spent acclimating herself to her power and abilities. She'd found it strange that only Gale, Helia, and Elariel worked with her during this period but never put much thought into it and pushed such concerns aside since the impending showdown with Vikes was all-consuming in its importance. "She..."

{It is unlikely that any of Enūma's memories remain, which was to be expected. The Gods would not be foolish enough to risk my Sister returning to our Father's side, for such a thing could've spelled their undoing. But no matter how much they tried or how much effort they put into twisting her existence, they could not fool her very soul. No matter how much Divine power they poured inside her, they could not fundamentally alter Enūma's true nature as the weapon of a Demon Lord. The incongruity between memories and soul is likely what's driving this current reaction, but I fear that it's too late for my Sister and she may collapse rather than willingly accompany me to finish our Father's mission. Forgive me, Sister for failing you. I should've come to your aid sooner. I cannot imagine a more terrible fate than being forced to forget the bond you once held so dearly.} (Labrys)

"You lie! You have to be lying!" Halifax exclaimed as she threw a blast of magical fire at Labrys, who deflected it with a swat of his hand. "Stop trying to deceive me!"

{This must be a trick! It has to be! Labrys is just trying to psyche me out because he doesn't think he can beat me! He must've known somehow that I wanted answers about my past and he's using that against me! I'll just have to beat the truth out of him!} (Halifax)

"While I'll admit that I've got more than enough motive to employ some deception, it should be painfully evident that what I'm telling you is the truth, Enūma." Labrys said as Halifax continued to simultaneously mentally break down and glare at him with a red-hot anger that threatened to leap from her eyes and scorch everything around her.

"There's no way I'd-" Halifax paused as Labrys interrupted her yet again.

"If I was lying to you, then explain how I knew your true name. How could I know of Enūma?" Labrys asked. It was a painful point that struck Halifax deeply. The name Enūma was not known outside the Gods and a select few Demi-Gods. On top of that, as demonstrated by Arcus' lack of knowledge, even other Divine Weapons were not aware of Enūmaand they most certainly didn't know that name since it wasn't recorded in history and passed down. As far as anyone, sans the Gods and their select few confidants, knew Vikes' weapons had no name. While it would be a given that Labrys, as a creation of Vikes, would know the name of his Sister weapon, it should've been impossible for him to know that Halifax would have any reaction if he called her by it. Especially since the few times that Halifax had unleashed Enūma, those who heard the name tended to be on the receiving end of her power, and she never used it during the fight with Vikes."Face facts. You are Enūma. Firstborn of Demon Lord Vikes... And his best friend."

"Wha-" Halifax was going to retort again, but the claim that she was somehow a friend of the Demon Lord caused her to pause since it had implications.

"If you have the patience, then allow me to tell you a tale passed along to me by our Father." Labrys said as he shifted his stance and took his weapon body off his back, slamming its butt into the grassy field below with a force so powerful it shook nearby trees. "Sadly, I know not how much of this tale is accurate as Lord Vikes' mental state deteriorated severely after your capture. He was barely sentient by the time of my creation, though in his more lucid moments, one would forgiven if they mistook him for little more than an excited child." He chuckled as he recalled a memory of the past. "But while some details may have been distorted by his degradation, the core of this tale is undoubtedly true. Would you like to hear it? Hear the tale of how our Father transformed from a mere mortal child with abnormal powers into a being far beyond even our comprehension... And your part in it all? I will warn you now that it's not a pleasant tale. It is one filled with nothing but sadness, tragedy, grief, and loss."

{Such was the fate of our Father, I suppose. Rejected by the world for what he was Lord Vikes in turn decided to reject it. But that was something that could not be tolerated and, in the end, the world saw fit to torment him one final time by twisting the one person who accepted him into a weapon that would be his undoing. If I were to rank this world's crimes, that would certainly be the most heinous.} (Labrys)

Halifax did not respond verbally, but Labrys could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted no needed to hear this story. She had not given up on denying Labrys' words but felt herself compelled to hear him out, especially since deep down she felt a burning need to understand the truth of her past. Though whether she could handle the truth was an entirely different story.

"Then allow me to begin... It starts a few years after his powers first awakened..." Labrys said as he began his tale. A tale of the genesis of a Demon Lord and how losing the one closest to him on a far different path to the second Demon Lord that would appear on Enoris.