Egg World

Prologue: A Talk Between Mutual Friends

Illustration credit goes to Konomi at https://www.instagram.com/konomidrawz/

SYLVIE POV:

Little lights of purple floated above me, like fireflies. I blinked, making sure that I wasn't seeing things, and my surroundings began to come into focus.

I stood in what looked like darkness, stretching out endlessly on every side of me. I was alone, except for the purple lights that slowly floated around, providing some light in the darkness.

Suddenly, memories of the recent fight came to mind, and a gasp escaped my lips. "Arthur!" I cried out, frantically looking around me.

Was I dead? Did that mean that I had been successful in transferring my body to him?

A splash pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked down towards my feet. A ripple went out from where I had stepped, seemingly going out forever in this space. I realized that I was standing on some form of liquid, as endless as the space around me, but that I wasn't sinking. I felt some form of resistance keeping me from falling through the surface, as if I were buoyant. But what caught my eye was my own appearance, reflected in the glass-like surface that I was standing on.

I was in my humanoid form, but covered in some form of white flame. No, covered wasn't the right word...I was the white flame. I consisted of it. Staring at my own reflection, I thought to myself that my form looked ethereal, like it could vanish away at any moment.

"I see," I whispered to myself. "I really am dead." A smile formed on my face as I realized that Arthur was most likely alive, but soon after, a crushing loneliness gripped my heart. I fell on my knees onto the invisible sea, sending out more ripples. I began to sob, as the reality of not being able to see my bond again began to overwhelm me. I covered my face in my hands as I continued to weep, my yearning to see Arthur tearing at me from within.

"You know, I hope that I'm not intruding..."

A scream tore out of my throat as I scrambled away from the voice, causing more splashes. Looking around me, I couldn't identify the owner of voice. Furiously brushing away my tears, I stood up and managed to speak in a shaky voice, "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"Behind you, princess."

Spinning around, I saw what looked like a distortion in the darkness. But upon squinting, I realized that there was some sort of black flame floating in front of me, and that the flame actually possessed what looked like white eyes and horns sticking out of its...head.

"Greetings, mutual friend of my master. I am Regis, the mighty weapon..."

"You're the weapon?!" I blurted out unconsciously, unable to contain my shock. The will-o-wisp cleared its throat, or wherever his voice was coming from, in annoyance at being interrupted.

"Yes, I am the weapon that you've all been waiting for with so much anticipation! And now my time has come to make my debut. It looks like we have a sliver of time to chat before I get expelled into the outer world and you get sent to..." he trailed off as he saw me begin to shake in anger.

"Why...why now? We needed you before!" I shouted, swiping my hand at him in anger. The little ball of flame flew over my strike, barely dodging an attack that I wasn't sure would have even damaged him.

"Whoa, whoa...that's not how you welcome a new party member," Regis grumbled. But he stayed quiet afterwards while he saw me seethe.

"We needed you at the Wall, we needed you against Cylrit, we needed you against Elijah, Cadell," I ranted, while the floating flame just observed in silence. "Why now?"

Regis stared at me calmly through his sharp eyes before responding. "Take a deep breath, princess."

I closed my eyes, trying to push down my anger. Letting out somewhat of a huff, I plopped down onto the surface, legs crossed. Regis floated down until he was right above the water, gazing up at me.

"It wasn't my choice when I would get to go out. I was designed to manifest when my owner needed my presence."

"And why do you think Arthur needs you now, as opposed to all the other times when he nearly died?" I asked in a not-quite-measured voice, still somewhat frustrated with the flaming ball.

Regis looked up at me with a face that looked like something of a sad smile. "Because now he's lost you."

I tilted my head at his cryptic answer. "Lost me? Are you as strong as I am?"

The will-o-wisp cackled, the black flames flaring out. "I better be stronger than you, you couldn't even put a dent on that scythe!"

I felt my face flush in embarrassment, which I didn't even know was possible in this new form, but I was unable to refute his statement. I had been very close to being a liability in my last fight, and given the sheer power of Arthur's recent enemies, the strength that I had thought would be useful to my bond had proven to be insignificant in his battles.

Regis shook his head, which made up his entire body. "No, I'll be going to help him with something he needs more than just more power. Although it looks like he could certainly use more power, given the whooping he's been getting in recent times."

Confused, I began to ask, "Then what exactly..."

"Whoops, looks like it's time." A light tore through the darkness from behind Regis, as if the space around us were just a veil. A force seemed to draw him towards the bright opening, and Regis turned to face the light. "I'll see ya soon, hopefully."

"Wait!" I cried, but a light shone around me, and I realized that an opening had appeared behind me as well. "Regis!"

I hurried to get my words out as I saw the ball of flame turn back around to glance at me. A force was starting to draw me towards the opening behind me too. "You need to be there for Arthur! You need to be more than a weapon; you need to be his companion!"

I choked on tears as I got the next words out: "You need to replace me."

"That's a tall order, princess," Regis chuckled. "I don't think there's anyone in the world that can replace what you've been to him."

He paused, and for the first time he made what looked like an uncertain expression on his face. "But hey, if there's any advice on what to say to him when I first meet him, I'm all ears."

"Don't let him withdraw into himself," I shouted immediately, the words coming out on impulse from having been bound to Arthur's soul for so long. "Say something self-centered! Say something egotistical! Pull him out of his own ego! Don't," I sobbed, "just don't let him be alone."

The black flame flashed what must have been a grin at me, as he began to slip through the opening. "I think I know just the thing to say."

I saw his form vanish into the light, and the opening closed, as if it were never there. As the light from my own door began enveloping me, I began losing my sense of time, and I heard some muffled words from what sounded like Regis and someone else's voice. Before my consciousness completely faded away, I heard Regis' voice one last time:

"Greetings, my pitiful master. I am Regis, the mighty weapon that has..."