The Ruler's Rift

What Was Lost

Metal carved through space, nearing the mysterious planet ever closer. Celeste had left the cockpit and now sat in her bland bedroom. No light penetrated the room of the ship where she was to rest. The view of Mystearlia vanished when she left the cockpit, but she still felt its gravity - it's allure. It called to her not with a voice but a feeling. Every inch scarred her; closer and closer she came to her home. Nerves melted in her skin, and her magic filled her lungs. "What's happening...?" She muttered to herself, back against the wall and hugging her knees. She'd dive out the window if she could; swim through the stars if she were able.

Those feats may have eluded her, but magic did not. It bubbled up within, boiling her blood and intoxicating her instincts. Celeste breathed shakily and shut her eyes; she brought her right fist to her chest and raised her index finger. After hours of brooding in her room, alone, she was close enough to it - it was close enough to her.

Flickers of pink, purple, and blue spilled from the corners of Celeste's eyes. She kept them shut - calm and mindful. Her magic weaved in her soul naturally, effortlessly, and soon it manifested at her fingertip in a short, fuschia spark.

Celeste shuddered; she felt Mystearlia's barrier melt away. It opened its arms to her and any whom she may permit. It welcomed its child.

The demon lowered her hand and sighed. The colorful glow of her sorcery faded, and the room returned to shadow. She could visit either of the Sharcanids, but Lucy slept and Nova flew the ship. The two of them must've been shaken from their tasks when the metal vessel trembled. It shook through Mystearlia's atmosphere, plummeting towards the frozen surface like a meteor. Celeste lept from the floor and shot out of her room, where Lucy met her in the hallway.

"Are we crashing!?" Lucy yelled. Her fingers and body were curled like a cat more than a dog.

"I let down the barrier," Celeste clarified. She barely raised her voice even over the quaking of steel on steel.

"How!?"

Celeste didn't answer. Now wasn't the time to explain that she was a mighty mage.

Everyone gathered at the cockpit as Nova brought the ship to a landing. As snow and silence drew in, the ship leveled itself and all tremors ceased. Pallid light, not bright but cool and soft like the glow of morning, flooded through the window and into Celeste's eyes. Before her stretched Mystearlia.

She barely felt the ship touchdown.

"It's just like I've heard..." Nova said. She remained in her seat, casually powering down the ship.

Lucy's voice carried alarm. Her ears stood tall in horror, met with the same affliction as her eyes - they couldn't turn away. "S...Something's wrong..." She muttered.

Celeste only stared at the vast, alluring world before her - just beyond the cockpit windshield.

"Something's wrong! Celeste!" Lucy insisted. She clutched the demon's arm and shook. "Is this really Mystearlia!?"

"Why...wouldn't it be?" Celeste asked, tranced. The world begged her to leave the protective hunk of iron and to venture into the sinful snow.

"Oh, it's definitely Mystearlia," Nova chuckled. She stood and released the doors to the outside. Along with the rush of cold, winter air came a monstrous sight. The fresh angle, the open view - a view which the windshield failed to provide - let all eyes gaze upon the horror.

Lurking in the distance, hiding amidst the fog and snow, loomed the tallest, blackest structure Celeste had ever seen. Spires of obsidian climbed toward the heavens as if to threaten them. Galaxies of bone-shaped filigree coated every surface, each swirl and curve dark as coal. Fancy, disgusting - regal, macabre. Celeste could not speak.