บท 109: Chapter 108
[Third Person's PoV]
Cid looked at both Iris and Beatrix, "Well, now that I know you two are alright, I need to go check on my sister," he said as he turned around and left.
Once he was far enough from everyone, his shadow started to expand slightly as shadow appeared from underneath it.
Cid just covered his face with his hands, "Please dissolve me already, that was so embarrassing, I want to die."
"How do you think I feel? It was the real me that was actually saying all those things, and I don't need to explain why I did what I did, right?" Shadow asked.
To which Cid just sighed and shook his head, "Yeah, don't worry, I got it, I got it. Now nobody would even consider Cid and Shadow ever being the same person, no matter how much strength you showed as Cid."
Shadow nodded his head before 'Cid' went poof and burst into black smoke that dove into his Shadow's shadow.
Shadow then transformed back into Cid before simply walking away as if nothing happened.
A few hours later…
A Carriage pulled up in front of Beatrix, who was seen waiting outside the God of War Festival stadium.
She was confused at first before a woman jumped from the driver's seat and opened the door, "Please get in, madame Alpha awaits you."
Beatrix was at first surprised before nodding her head and getting seated on the opposite side of Alpha, who was simply staring out the window.
As the door closed and the carriage started moving, Alpha continued staring out the window as she asked, "Tell me, you have been alive for a long time and been to multiple places around the world. Have you ever heard of the name, The Diabolos Cult?"
Beatrix was surprised at first before she started shaking her head, "My main focus was finding you and making sure you were alive. I didn't pay much attention to anything else that wasn't related to that. I probably did hear of them but didn't think it important and probably forgot about it."
"I see…" Alpha said before looking at Beatrix, "Then if you are going to be following close behind me, you need to know a few things about me and what I do."
Beatrix didn't say anything as she gained a serious expression while looking at Alpha, curious about what she was going to say.
"To get the full picture, I'll start from the very beginning…" Alpha said with a smile, reminiscing about how she met Cid.
"When my mother died, I was then later kidnapped by bandits after they found out I had what is known as 'Demon possession'. To get money, they were planning on selling me to the church, who buy children who are said to be experiencing similar symptoms so they would 'Cleanse' them and stop it from spreading."
Beatrix noticed Alpha emphasizing some of the words but didn't comment on it and let her continue.
"On my way to being sold, I was inching closer and closer to death, but then I was saved. The tarp of my cage was thrown off and there stood the boy who would later be known as my Master and husband. He reached out his hand to my decaying body and started healing me, bringing me back from the brink of death."
Beatrix was quite shocked to hear how close Alpha was to death; she didn't expect it to be that bad. She wanted to reach over and console her, but she knew Alpha had more to say so she let her continue.
"As he healed me, I was quite surprised to find all of the bandits that took me dead where they stood. It was after that, that he revealed the truth of the world to me. There is no such thing as Demon possession; it's not a disease, it's not an illness, and it's definitely not contagious, or a Demon trying to possess and take over our bodies," Alpha sharply said, causing Beatrix's eyes to widen.
Although she doesn't know much about the Diabolos Cult, she knows about 'Demon possession'. She had seen it countless times on her journey. She saw how it affected the body and what it does to someone, so hearing it's not what she thought it was came as a great shock.
"If it's not what you just mentioned then what is it? What is causing this?" Beatrix asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
Alpha then went on to explain how the Diabolos Cult changed history and how it truly ended, how the cult changed the narrative of what truly occurred between the heroes and the demon Diabolos.
"So you mean to tell me, 'Demon possession' is just a curse on the hero's bloodline, and those who experience the symptoms are most likely their descendants?" Beatrix asked with a hand over her chin and mouth, to which Alpha nodded.
"After that revelation, Master offered me to join him, join his organization, an organization he was creating to stand against the Diabolos Cult. He wanted me to be the first person to join, and it is up to this day one of the greatest honors I have received.
He saved my life, and I owed him everything. How could I decline such an offer, and so of course I accepted. He did all he could to train me. Thanks to him, I became stronger, more knowledgeable, wiser. As we trained, more people started to join until there were 7 of us, the 7 of us became like sisters serving under the same master, growing stronger.
Once our strength became sufficient, we started saving more people under the effect of 'Demon possession' before the church or the Diabolos Cult could get a hand on them. Slowly but surely, our organization started to grow, acquiring more members the more people we saved."
As Beatrix was digesting all of the information she was hearing, Alpha tapped on the Carriage window that was on the back of her, which caused the Carriage to stop moving.
Outside underneath the Carriage, its shadow started growing darker and darker before it started to expand. The Carriage then started to sink into the Shadows before reappearing in front of a foggy forest. The Carriage then started moving again.
Beatrix was perplexed by the sudden change of scenery and was unsure of how Alpha was doing it.
The fog outside parted slightly, making way for the Carriage before closing up behind them as they made their way through the forest.
"Where are we headed?" Beatrix asked, looking outside not sure where she was; she's been to a lot of places but she doesn't seem to remember such a place.
"We are making our way towards our headquarters, where the majority of our members reside. Now tell me, after hearing all this, do you still wish to follow close to me?"
Beatrix gained a serious expression, "Yes, I do, now more than ever. You are doing something so noble if what I'm hearing is correct. I would be more than glad to fight by your side."
Alpha nodded her head, already expecting such an answer.
"Now tell me, what is the name of this organization you have built alongside Cid?"
"That's going to be Master. If you're planning on joining, please respect his position and call him as such."
Alpha coldly said, which caused Beatrix to gain an awkward expression.
As they were out of the forest, Alpha pointed outside to the window, which made Beatrix stick her head out and take a look.
As she did, her eyes widened seeing such a huge city, "Welcome to the Hidden City of Nightingale, where our organization, 'Shadow Garden' resides."
They soon passed through the city gates as the carriage made its way towards the castle.
"I see, so Shadow Garden is the name of the organization, it's a beautiful name," Beatrix said with a smile which caused Alpha to smile back and nodded her head.
They soon stopped as the door to the carriage was then open, "Come along, master demands your presence," Alpha said as she got out and started walking ahead, Beatrix simply followed close behind still admiring everything around her, from the city to the castle in front of her.
As they made their way inside, Alpha felt she needed to once again state, "I'll remind you again to please be mindful, as you are in our master's home and need to be respectful, even if you are my Aunt, I wouldn't forgive any disrespect towards our Master."
Beatrix nodded her head with a serious expression, as she didn't want to disappoint Alpha.
They soon arrived in front of the throne room, where two ladies dressed in their Shadow Garden outfits stood outside the room by each door.
"The master has been expecting you, my lady," they both nodded before reaching for the door and shouting, "Now Presenting Lady Alpha, the Sin of Pride and Lady Beatrix, the War Goddess."
They slowly opened the door as they did Beatrix and Alpha stepped inside, and when she looked towards the throne Beatrix froze on the spot, her mouth hanging open with her eyes widening as large as saucers.
"S-S-Shadow!?" She stuttered out, it wasn't that long since she had her ass handed to her by him and now she's meeting him again causing her a great amount of shock.
Shadow on the throne simply chuckled before lowering his hood, "We just seemed to keep running into each other, don't we Beatrix?"
"..."
"Eh?"
Beatrix's eyes started swinging in circles as her fingers moved in opposite directions, "But, But, But, Shadow, and then Cid. But they fought. How can there be two?"
Beatrix's brain short-circuited and went blue screened as she wasn't able to wrap her head around the situation.
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