The Red Hand

Chapter 488 – A Fire in Her Eyes.

"She hasn't moved in a while. Are you sure she's okay?" Tanya asked the Demon, who was busy speed-reading through the countless texts in Labrys' private vault. The Divine Blade in question hadn't moved a muscle since she'd been thrust into Vikes' memories, which Tanya believed to be a bad sign.

"There were a lot of memories in there, kid." Akagi said as she flipped through another book before placing it in a pile labeled 'unimportant'. "Not to mention that time moves differently while doing something like that. My mental processing ability let me view everything in a split second, but even a being like Halifax will take some time to sort through all that information. Plus, she's actually watching some of these things take place, which I'd wager is slowing things down a good bit."

{Especially those memories.} (Akagi)

"How much was in there anyway?" Yumi yelled down as she sorted through other papers from the floor above. "From your tone earlier, it sounded like there were only a few core ones."

"It might've been only a few individual events but... Its hard to explain, but yeah there was a lot to go through." Akagi replied without looking toward her. "Most of which were painful memories too. Sorting through the loss and reunion with his friend takes up quite a bit of run time.”

"I... I don't even want to imagine what Lord Vikes felt in that moment." Tanya said as she glanced at Halifax. “To lose someone so dear to him, and to then see them paraded around like some kind of puppet.”

"The rage he felt was indescribable. A mortal like you cannot even begin to imagine the depth of their bond, and what the sundering of such a connection did to him." Akagi said as she looked up at Yumi, who was busy looking at a few odd artifacts. "It... It broke him. It was as if a very important piece of his very being was ripped away, never to be returned. What can be felt from the shard's lingering memories makes me even more determined to protect Yumi. She is to me what Enūma was to Vikes, and I have no interest in experiencing that kind of loss. I know what it means to feel great pain, pain that nothing can ever truly soothe. Yumi has done a great deal to make it bearable, her and the other great friends and family I now have." She continued. "Vikes was not so lucky. His nature emerged early in life, far too early for his young mind to handle. He lacked a proper foundation, proper discipline, proper... anything. All he could rely on was the strange entity born from his power, and as I've seen through his memories, Enūma was ill-prepared to shoulder such a great burden." She sighed.

{No single creature is truly capable of such a thing really. It took an entire family of dozens upon dozens of people to pull me back from the brink. Had I not had something that substantial to cling to, then I would've likely gone down the very same path Vikes did.} (Akagi)

"Are you angry that Vikes was destroyed?" Tanya asked as she watched Akagi read through a stack of books. "He was your de-facto brother after all."

"Angry?" Akagi paused her reading as she thought about how best to answer. "Put simply, no." She shook her head as she continued reading. "Vikes may be another Demon Lord. I may even consider him kin, but at the end of the day, I feel no sorrow for his death. Twas just a natural result of his existence. Demon Lords are born for one purpose; destruction." She continued. "Vikes followed his instincts and was destroyed by the people of this world as a result. They wished to live, and they fought back with everything they could against a creature that desired to consume them all. In the end, it is what it is."

"I mean, you must feel something about him." Tanya couldn't believe that there wasn't a connection of some kind between them. "Your words and actions here indicate there's a bit more than you're letting on. Else, why would you keep the diary and take such interest in his memories?" She paused as her eyes slid to Halifax. "Or his blade."

"Do not misunderstand. It's not as if I feel nothing about Vikes." Akagi shook her head as Yumi yelped from tripping over the carpet. "We are both Demon Lords, so we have a natural affinity. I dislike another Demon Lord's memory being spat upon, especially when they were naught but a child who never wanted the fate he was given. As for Halifax..." She paused as she swapped books. "My friend is just that, my friend. We're related by virtue of her origins, but even before I discovered that connection, I considered her special. The two of us simply have personalities that mesh well, and while one could argue that the Demon Lord heritage within her influenced things, I choose to believe that I'd still have an affection for her if she were purely of Divine make. Our shared trauma may also have helped matters." She chuckled. "They do say that misery loves company.”

"I suppose that's true." Tanya replied, she'd been through her own share of horror and knew better than to press for details. "I was driven out of my home by my own family and called a freak and a monster for my ability. So I've been there too."

"The ability to not only detect but view souls is..." Akagi shifted her jaw in thought. "I wonder where exactly it came from. Mortals should not be able to interact with souls at all under normal circumstances. Even visualizing them is a rarity."

{As it should be because fucking around with souls tends to create big problems.} (Akagi)

"I've never met another person with this ability." Tanya said as she looked at one of the books that Akagi had placed in the 'unimportant' pile. "I've even gone as far back in my ancestry as possible and have turned up nothing unusual. No unions with Demons or Angels. Nothing."

"Then perhaps it's a leftover from..." Akagi paused, realizing that she was about to get into the whole eternal cycle of reincarnation which she didn't really want to since it would undoubtedly cause issues.

"Leftover?" Tanya asked with a raised eyebrow. "From what?"

"..." Akagi sighed, deciding to just have the discussion since she could tell that Tanya wasn't the kind to let things go. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"There are sects who believe in it on the Eastern and Southern Continents, so yes I've heard of it. I've never seen proof that its real, and the Gods never give a straight answer if asked, but and with everything else I know about this world, I suppose it's possible." Tanya nodded. "Wait, are you saying that-"

"It's possible." Akagi interrupted her, since she figured it best to explain things herself rather than let the beastwoman ramble. "When someone is reincarnated, their souls are normally cleansed. Nothing from their previous life should remain. However, the system is not perfect, and from time to time errors can occur, which can cause a few issues for the new personality."

"But why would I be reincarnated?" Tanya asked, finding it odd that she specifically would have a past life. From what she knew it would be reserved for select people or those who used magic to force it. "Who or what would do that? And why?"

"Do you really want the answer?" Akagi turned to her, the Demon's eyes piercing right through the beastkin, who gulped before nodding. "It's simple, all mortals reincarnate." She said before explaining the truth of souls and how, once a mortal dies, they are always reincarnated unless something intentionally pulls them out of the cycle, and that she'd been reborn an uncountable number of times as part of an eternal system that feeds its own growth.

"I... Ah... That..." Tanya's entire body froze as her blood ran cold. She didn't doubt Akagi's words, as the Demon Lord had no reason to lie; it was simply that shocking.

"I warned you." Akagi replied before turning back to the book in her hand. "Mortals are better off not knowing since it causes more trouble than it's worth."

{Kana didn't seem phased, though. Which I suppose is expected at this point given that 's just how she is.} (Akagi)

"S-So does that mean our existence is meaningless?" Tanya stammered. "If we exist to be born and die just to create energy, then what's the point of living?!?"

"The point is whatever you make it." Halifax's voice sounded out as the Divine Blade slowly removed her hand from the Power Reactor before wiping away a few tears on her sleeve.

"Welcome back!" Akagi chuckled. "Did you enjoy the movie? Was the popcorn any good? I heard the concession stand was quite good!"

"You..." Halifax sighed as she slowly looked up at the Reactor. "You really weren't kidding when you said the memories in there weren't fun..."

"You alright?" Akagi asked as she closed a book.

"Yeah... Yeah..." Halifax said with a wry smile. "It was a lot to process, but I think... I think I'm better off having seen it all." She said as she let out a deep breath. "I got to see myself... I was... I was surprisingly similar back then to what I am now." She chuckled. "Even as Enūma, I was devoted, headstrong-"

"And had a wicked sense of humor." Akagi snickered.

"Though it seems most of my jokes went over Vikes' head." Halifax shook her head as she smiled in an attempt to mask her sadness. "He... He really meant a lot to me, huh? I was... I was his only friend... The only person he had once..."

"Demon Lords are lonely existences, Halifax." Akagi said. "We're born to destroy, that's it. And after that, we have nothing but eternal darkness and our own madness to keep us company."

"He didn't need to end up like that, did he?" Halifax could tell that another end was possible. "He could've... He could've been like you."

"He very well could've." Akagi nodded. "He very well could've."

{The likelihood of such a thing is not high, but I suppose if I could do it, he could have too. Sand a twist of fate, maybe he and I could've met. Though if we did...} (Akagi)

"So once again the Gods' screw up caused nothing but misery." Halifax said before turning to Akagi. "They need to be destroyed. All of them. For everything they did to the people of this world, to the Dark Elves, the Spirits, me... and even... even Vikal."