Philian Apolesai

Home

The blackness surrounded her in an instant. The warmth of the cabin faded away as she stepped onto a hard tiled floor. The new world surrounding her was so bright, she instinctively closed her eyes as she pulled the other half of her body through the [Gate]. Vesi wanted a moment to adjust. Even without seeing the world already felt so different. The smallest part of her still wanted to believe that none of this was true, that she would open her eyes and find herself in some horrible dungeon; but that thought could only last as long as she kept them closed. Something in her insisted she keep hiding from whatever truth was here. The coward in her. Vesi would have lived in her uncertainty for an eternity if not for the gasp and the sound of something falling coming from right in front of her.

Begrudgingly, Vesi finally opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was how immaculate everything seemed to be. Spotless walls, lined with golden pillars, leading up to glowing chandeliers, all of it polished to perfection. Then her vision lands on the small woman with a bucket at her feet. A petite blonde in a blue maid's dress staring up at her in utter shock. Though it does not seem to be the usual fear a human has when one sees her. The maid's eyes are wide and her entire body is shaking, but she also wears a smile that's widening with every breath. The woman almost seems elated. So full of joy that she cannot contain it within her small frame. Yet so far, she's only stared at Vesi.

"Are you... alright?" Vesi was almost scared to ask but she had to say something.

The simple question made the girl scream. Vesi jumped at the sharp sound, but quickly realized the maid wasn't terrified as she had assumed. It was more like a fangirl's scream when her favorite idol appeared on stage. Confused, she turned to Demiurge, the only one who had been able to explain things so far, but before she could ask anything, the sound of running feet stole her attention. The maid was quickly closing the distance. She finally stopped an arm's length away and bowed at the waist.

"Welcome home, Lady Vesi!"

Home. Was that truly where she was? Could this beautiful place really accept her as one of its residents? And, Lady Vesi. This maid knew her name and called her a 'lady,' just as Demiurge had. She wanted to ask questions—perhaps this woman would answer differently from Demiurge and finally reveal the lie.

A soft "Lady Vesi?" came from around the corner. Turning toward the sound, she saw dozens more maids not-so-subtly peeking around the wall. The moment they had her attention, they sprinted forward as one, a mass of servants surrounding her completely. Each of them shouted questions once they were close. Vesi could not hope to answer them all, but seeing so many people excited by her mere presence—it was such a stark contrast to the life she had lived for hundreds of years. The heavy feeling of tears returned, aching to flow. She fought them off until the first maid broke through the rapidly forming crowd. The girl hadn't bothered concealing her emotions; two lines of tears proudly stained her face as she looked up at Vesi.

"It's such an honor to have you home, my Lady."

[Philian Apolesai]

Albedo moved silently through the dense forest, her dark armor greedily absorbing all sunlight that fell through the trees, turning her into nothing more than a moving shadow, advancing ever faster toward her goal. Nigredo had thought she was clever, but it was obvious she was lying. Ignoring her sister's direction had quickly brought Albedo closer to her true target, and she could feel it: the aura of a Supreme Being, the unmistakable stench hanging in the air. Vesi. The woman whose mysterious disappearance had carved one of the deepest gouges into her love's heart.

Albedo thought back to the days, the months, right after Vesi's abandonment. Every day, like clockwork, her merciful Lord Momonga would go to their usual meeting spot outside the throne room and wait for her to reappear. But she never returned. She had abandoned them, and now she expected to be welcomed back with open arms. The worst part was that Albedo knew they would. All of Nazarick would be falling over itself in an effort to please the one who had cast them aside. Only now that they were in this mysterious world and needed help did she come crawling back. No one else had the courage to do it, so Albedo would do it for them—remove this leech from the world before it even had the opportunity to bite.