The air shimmered with an unnatural radiance, the kind of soft purple glow that painted the sky during the final breaths of twilight—but this wasn’t a natural twilight. This was an ethereal expanse, where reality blurred into a forgotten fantasy. Fragments of floating amethyst crystal hovered in suspended animation, refracting light through a chasmous, endless void. In the center of this dreamlike plane, an ornate bench sat like a throne of bone. Its white surface was carved with intricate skull motifs, their hollow gazes watching unseen movements in the distance.
She sat there, regal and aloof, though there was a glint of mischief in her piercing, sapphire-blue eyes. Her figure was slender yet powerful, her posture exuding the perfect blend of grace and command. Cascading waves of platinum hair spilled down her back like liquid silk, catching the strange purple light in mesmerizing tones. Her outfit—a daring ensemble not meant for the faint of heart—glimmered with deep purple and gold accents. The lace-trimmed fabric clung delicately to her form, whispering of elegance while bordered with a seductive edge. A faint rose trim adorned her lingerie-like attire, blending vulnerability with the unmistakable presence of someone who had walked through fire and emerged stronger. Her long, impossibly elegant legs were balanced on high heels encrusted with a constellation of sparkling gems, every slight movement sending starlight scattering across the void.
Her hands were poised lightly over a bouquet of white lilies resting on her lap, their petals luminous and impossibly pristine. Juxtaposed against her enigmatic outfit and the deadly beauty of the skulls on the bench, the lilies seemed out of place, like a hymn sung in the aftermath of battle. Her long, delicately pointed ears peeked above her head, adding an unnatural charm to her aura. These were not human traits; they belonged to something otherworldly, something meant to enchant—and to destroy.
But the calm was fleeting. A rift tore open in the sky behind her. From within its fiery core, figures emerged—shadowed silhouettes of soldiers, clad in heavy obsidian-like armor glowing faintly with crimson glyphs. The air thrummed with their presence; each movement was synced, precise, and terrifying.
“Artoria Pendragon!” one of the soldiers roared, his voice like molten steel. His armor hissed with infernal heat as he stepped closer, a massive halberd slung over his shoulder. “The Council of Eternity demands you relinquish the Relic of Eternity, or we will take it by force.”
Artoria’s lips curled into a smirk. Her bouquet was no ordinary cluster of flowers. She lifted the lilies, and with a flick of her elegant fingers, they disintegrated in her grip—revealing a golden blade that seemed to hum with celestial energy. The entire plane vibrated as if it, too, were alive and knew this weapon’s power. She stood, heels clicking sharply against the crystalline ground. The faint jingle of bells from the tips of her bunny ears might have seemed playful in another context, but here in this eerie tableau of death and starlight, they sounded haunting.
“The ‘Relic of Eternity,’ you say?” Artoria’s voice was silken yet edged with steel. “You misunderstand. I don’t have the relic. I am the relic.”
The leader of the soldiers faltered for the briefest of moments before steadying his stance. “Then you leave us no choice.” He raised his halberd high, summoning a wave of crackling black fire that rushed toward her like a tidal wave of doom.
Artoria didn’t flinch. Her golden blade sliced through the air with an otherworldly precision, sending an arc of radiant energy crashing into the oncoming fire. The two forces collided mid-air, exploding into a breathtaking storm of light and shadow. The impact sent shards of the floating crystals spiraling into the void, refracting dazzling rays in every direction.
“Tsk.” Artoria tilted her head slightly, her bunny ears bouncing in tandem with her movement. “All this for me? I’m flattered.” Her tone dripped with mockery. With a movement too swift to follow, she charged forward, her heels leaving molten imprints on the crystalline floor. She cleaved through the first two soldiers with a single swing of her blade, their armor shattering like brittle obsidian. Blood-red sparks erupted where her blade made contact, vanishing into the ether as quickly as they appeared.
Suddenly, another fierce wave of shadow soldiers materialized, their sheer numbers overwhelming even the brilliance of her attacks. Artoria leapt backwards, flipping gracefully, her heels catching the light as if mocking the dire circumstances. She landed with feline elegance atop the white skull bench, which now bore signs of charring from the ongoing skirmish.
“You’re persistent,” she said, twirling her blade idly as if deciding who to dispatch next. “But persistence doesn’t guarantee survival.”
The leader lunged forward, his halberd spinning as it shattered the air. Artoria sidestepped easily, letting the massive weapon embed itself into the crystal ground with a bone-rattling impact. Before he could recover, she pressed the tip of her golden blade against his throat.
Up close, his face was visible through the thin slit of his helmet. Fear radiated from his wide eyes, but there was also something else—a glimmer of loyalty, duty, even desperation.
“You fight for them,” Artoria said softly, her voice neither cruel nor kind. “But would they fight for you?”
“I…” His voice cracked under the strain of conflicting emotions. “I have orders. I must obey.”
Artoria’s sapphire eyes seemed to glow, their intensity unnerving. “Pity,” she murmured. “Perhaps, in another life, we’d have been allies.” Before he could respond, her blade moved in a flash. A single strike ended the battle, sending his body collapsing into the endless void below.
Silence reigned once more. Artoria sheathed her luminous sword into nothingness, her chest rising and falling as she caught her breath. The void’s soft purple hues returned, bathing the strange, mystical landscape in its soothing light. For now, the fight was over. But in the distance, she could feel the vibration of another rift preparing to open.
“Time to move,” she whispered, retrieving a single, surviving lily from the wreckage of her bouquet. With a small smile, she tucked the bloom behind her ear and turned to face the vastness of the unknown.
Genre: Fantasy/Action
The Source…check out the article that inspired this amazing short story: Deep Purple and Gold Cosplay Inspiration: Elegance and Fantasy
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