Chapter 85: Talking with Seraphyne!
The sound of her voice was velvet over steel, low, resonant, and dripping with an authority that brooked no hesitation.
Even the residual heat from the battle seemed to draw toward her, as though the very air had decided it would rather serve her than remain wild.
He inclined his head slightly, meeting her gaze without flinching, "Albedo, the man who just freed you from your seal,"
Her lips curved into something between a smile and a smirk as she heard his words, and noticed the unbridled confidence at which he stared directly at her.
"Ahhh... mon cher, so it was you," she said, her tone caressing the air in that lilting, faintly French accent that was similar to what was described in the Novel.
"The one bold, or potentially foolishenough to seek the Keys of Seraphyne and awaken the Bloody Requiem herself. I must admit I’m impressed,"
She said and stepped forward, each moving flowing naturally like liquid shadow & blood. Her crimson eyes raked over him, not with lust, but with the same predatory focus a hawk gives a field mouse.
"And you stand before me without trembling. I find that... intriguing."
Ember’s flames hissed faintly as she sensed the potential threat towards Albedo. Although she knew she couldn’t defeat Seraphyne, she wouldn’t stand down.
Albedo didn’t move himself either, "I don’t kneel just because someone’s strong."
Her smile deepened. "Nor do I, unless I choose to. Which is why I ask, mon cher, do you know what you have claimed by freeing me?"
Albedo’s head tilted slightly, "Of course, the legends said I’d gain a valuable ally,"
Seraphyne’s laugh was soft and dark, the kind of sound that might make lesser men take a step back. "An ally, perhaps. But more than that, you have claimed my debt. My... Karma, as some call it."
She took another step forward, her perfume, dark roses and something sharper, almost metallic, catching in his breath.
"If you accept this Karma, then I am bound to you. I shall fight for you, bleed for you, and strike down all who stand against you. But..." Her gaze sharpened to a blade’s edge, "You must also fulfill what I demand."
Albedo’s fingers flexed over Ruin’s grip as he thought. The Karma was never talked about in the Novel, "What demand?"
She stopped only an arm’s length away, the crimson in her eyes deepening until it looked like there was fire moving behind them.
"My sister, Selantra," she said, the name tasting like both honey and ash on her tongue, "She once wore a necklace, a moonstone framed in blackened silver, set upon a chain of woven nightsteel links. It was her most cherished possession. When..."
She paused, the faintest twitch of her lips betraying that the memory cost her something. "When the King took her from me, the necklace vanished as well. I have hunted whispers of it for centuries... until I sealed myself away."
She raised a single pale hand, a fingertip brushing the space between them as if drawing an invisible thread from his chest to hers.
"I know the necklace is intact, I can sense that much. I need you to promise to try your best and find this necklace, return it to me, intact. Do this, and my strength is yours until this world turns to dust."
Albedo studied her for a long moment. She didn’t avert her gaze once as she stared at him. Albedo’s very existence intrigued her the more she stared.
"You’re saying I’d be your... master, if I accept?" he said slowly.
Her smile returned, this one full of sharpened edges, "In the oldest and most dangerous sense of the word, yes. My will bound to yours... but remember, mon cher, the leash goes both ways. Cross me, and you will learn exactly why they called me the Scarlet Calamity."
The chamber’s crimson glow seemed to deepen, wrapping them both in an unspoken contract waiting to be sealed. Ember pawed at the stone again, snorting softly as if urging him to decide.
Albedo finally extended his left hand toward her, "Fine. I accept your Karma."
Her eyes narrowed, pleased, and she stepped in close enough that the lace of her sleeve brushed his wrist. Instead of shaking, she gripped his hand in a slow, deliberate clasp, her nails faintly pricking his skin.
The instant their palms met, the air between them cracked like ice underfoot. Crimson light erupted from her, curling around his arm, threading through the lines of his veins before vanishing beneath his skin.
For just a second, he could feel her heartbeat in his own chest, which made him even more curious about all the other ancient magic Seraphyne had access to.
"It is done," she murmured, "Our fates are now braided together, mon maître. Fail me... and that braid will strangle you before you realize it."
She released his hand, stepping back with that same languid grace, as if nothing dangerous had just occurred.
However, her gaze remained locked on him. This gaze didn’t hand that standard allure, but now a bit of fascination, the kind one reserved for rare and dangerous treasures.
"You are... quite unique for a human," she said at last, voice curling with quiet amusement.
"When the first sensation of my seal breaking stirred me, I thought some fool treasure-hunter had been the one to connect the dots and unseal me. Perhaps a Dark Elf, or perhaps a power-drunk noble with more greed than wit. But you, " her lips curved slowly,
"You are something far rarer. A Dragon’s Heart beats in your chest, and your physique..." she tilted her head, the movement feline, "I cannot recognize it exactly, but its power is quite unique, a level of power that should not normally exist in this era."
Albedo’s eyes narrowed slightly, "You can tell all that just by looking at me?"
Her laugh was low and edged with pride, like a blade drawn an inch from its sheath. "At my level, mon maître, I do not look at people, I see them. Every thread of mana, every drop of blood, every echo of what they’ve been and what they might become. You are... intriguing."
She let the last word linger like a ribbon in the air, eyes flicking briefly to Ember, whose flames dimmed in wary acknowledgment.
"And you are not the only rare thing standing before me," Seraphyne added, lifting a pale, sharp-nailed hand toward the celestial mare.
"An ancient Solaris Equine, no less. That alone is a feat few living could claim. To think a man with a Dragon’s Heart and a physique so extraordinary rides such a steed... Ahh, mon cher, perhaps I should feel flattered you sought me out. You clearly have an affinity for the extraordinary."
Albedo rested a hand on Ember’s mane without breaking her gaze. "I didn’t come looking for you because you’re extraordinary," he said evenly.
Her brows arched in mild surprise, "No?"
"I came looking for you because I need someone I can trust," he continued. "Someone who’s strong enough to protect the only family I have left. My sister."
His voice didn’t rise, but there was steel in it, an unshakable conviction that reached her just as surely as the bond they had formed moments ago.
The shift in Seraphyne’s expression was subtle, but unmistakable. Her smirk softened, not into warmth exactly, but into something less barbed.
"For blood," she murmured, almost to herself, "You sought me for blood." She tilted her head slightly, studying him anew. "That... I respect."
Her voice lost none of its silken weight, but the tone shifted. "You surprise me again, mon maître. Most who would free the Scarlet Calamity would seek conquest, or vengeance, or glory.
But you... you would leash a monster for the sake of protecting a child." Her eyes glinted with something almost like approval. "Perhaps I will enjoy this bond more than I thought."
She stepped closer again, the click of her heels echoing faintly in the chamber’s still heat. "Tell me of her. If I am to guard her, I will know what I protect."
"She’s younger than me by six years. Gwen. Still unawakened," Albedo began and Seraphyne tilted her head, listening in that still, predatory way of hers.
"She has a kindness about her," he continued, "one that doesn’t belong in the world we live in. And lately..." his hand curled loosely at his side,
"...I’ve noticed eyes on her. Not the casual kind. Someone’s been watching her for weeks. Keeping distance. Testing her routines. I’ve been planning to find them before they try anything, but the trail keeps slipping."
Her crimson gaze sharpened to a hunter’s glint, the chamber’s dim light catching in the curve of her lips.
"We are finished here. This tomb has nothing left for us, and I have no desire to let that shadow grow bolder in my absence. You freed me for a reason, let us see to it that your sister remains untouchable."
She turned, the hem of her gown whispering over the stone, and strode toward the crumbling archway where Ember waited, ears pricked and tail swishing impatiently.
Albedo fell into step beside her, one hand resting on Ruin’s hilt, the other brushing Ember’s flank as they passed.
"Then we head back," he said, his voice low, decisive.
Seraphyne glanced at him sidelong, the faintest curl of a smile on her blood-red lips. "Yes, mon cher. Let us return... and see who dares stalk what now belongs to me."