The next time Belladonna opened her eyes, she was in a boat on a river. Now where had she seen this before? It felt so strange, her body felt strange, everything felt strange. Her body felt light, like it carried no presence and she seemed to glow softly. There were people seated by either side of her and opposite her; all strange faces. Their bodies glowed lightly too. Strange. She had never seen them before, she was sure of that.
There were flashes of memories fighting to emerge to the surface of her mind; fighting and losing. She looked around once again and her gaze settled on the person who was looking right back at her.
Those silver eyes filled with rage and mockery.
Xinora.
That was all it took for the memories to rush back.
SHE UNDERSTOOD IT NOW. SHE UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING.
SHE WAS DEAD.
Alaris had killed her, had killed them both.
Belladonna’s hand rushed to her chest to check if the hole Alaris had created by yanking out her heart was there but her hand slipped through her like she was merely a figment in the air.
A ghost.
She was a ghost now. Wasn’t that what all dead people became? And this boat was taking them to where the rest of them were; the Ghost Realm. It had to be that.
The silence dawned on her, the fog that filled the air with an uncertainty of the path they had chosen numbing her mind.
Was this how it felt like to be dead? This feeling of nothing? Was there more to it or was this everything it was going to be? It was a feeling she couldn’t describe, one that she wasn’t even certain she was feeling. There was a dull sense of pain and an overwhelming mixture of everything else that she couldn’t decipher. There was more she wanted to do. She wanted to see far beyond the great walls of Ignas and she did, just not the way she had wanted to. She wanted to live, she wanted a life with Eli, she wanted peace with her sister, she wanted to see her and Arlo one last time - even though Alaris had assured her that she was alright, even though she had seen it herself - she wanted Aniya to see her so she would know that she never abandoned her and she truly forgave her. She wanted to live and continue being Alaris’ friend. There were a lot of things she wanted to do
By Ignas, the guilt of killing her would never give Alaris peace. She wished she could take that from him.
He shouldn’t have to blame himself, it was a needed sacrifice; there was no other way. The war would have ended with both of them dead if she hadn’t sacrificed herself, Ximora would have taken over and her body wouldn’t have been hers anymore. She would have been a prisoner forever and she would have been made to watch Alaris get killed. A prisoner with no form of escape.
Alive or dead, she would lose either way but it seemed to be alive would even be worse. This way, at least, she was free and her death was worth it.
Her mind fell into silence once more, and then the thought of Eli rang in her mind. She felt a small jab in her chest and she pressed her hand against it only for it to go through once more.
He will not be happy that she is dead. Would she even see him? They had taken him away! They must have imprisoned him for his crimes!
She looked around quickly as if a path that led to Eli would come out of the fog that surrounded them.
Would they even be in the same realm? He must be suffering. He must be getting tortured for trying to fight his fate. Had he not told her of the punishment that awaited him? She had to find him and help him.
How ironic, she had gone with Alaris to the Dragon Realm to find a way to bring Eli back to life, never in her wildest imagination did she think that she would die to meet him.
She had a purpose now. She had to find Eli. She didn’t know where to begin or how to go about it, but a purpose was a purpose. She had to get it done.
Still, within this chaos was an odd sense of calmness that she had never felt before. It was as if the worst had happened to her and there was no longer a need to worry again about anything to come. What else was there for a dead woman to worry about? What else was relevant when there was no longer life to give it the relevancy it required to breathe?
By Ignas, what could be worse than death?
Not finding Eli here could be worse, not finding Eli at all would be her undoing.
Ah, even the dead had something to live for. Not live, she was dead. Die for? Not die for her either. She was already dead.
This was such an oddly calming limbo to be in.
Belladonna didn't know how much time had passed while she was thinking but then she felt a jolt and then she realized that the boat had stopped.
Here it was, the beginning of the end.
That thought made her lips instinctively curl into a sinister smile. Enraged by that smile, Xinora sprung up and rushed up to Belladonna, for some odd reason, her hands actually went around Belladonna’s neck. Oh, how interesting! So being a ghost wouldn’t help her when she was about to get killed again?! Now how was that fair?
“You went against your duty and for that, YOU WILL SUFFER! This is not an escape, your sorrow is inevitable all because you didn’t fulfill your purpose! You had a purpose but now you are just nothing.” Some creatures in cloaks appeared behind Xinora like they had materialized out of the fog. With ease, they pulled her away as Ximora tried to fight them. “NOTHING!”
Xinora’s voice faded away quickly soon enough. It wasn’t because of the distance that had been forced between them, which was little, but because she had been silenced by a great accusation. The ones questioning Xinora had their backs turned to Belladonna so she couldn’t see their faces but she could hear them whispering to her.
“No!” Xinora said back sharply. “She consented because she had mercy on us. She knew that I deserved a second chance. The Kore knew! Let me go!”
“You cheated fate, your punishment awaits you,” One finally said in a voice louder than a whisper, and just like that they were gone - vanished - r
ight before Belladonna’s very eyes.
The Kore?
Who was the Kore?