Chapter 3 – God Forsaken
Thanks to my black flames, I’m able
to conjure a chariot so getting to my destination isn’t much of a hassle. Also,
picking treasures off random people I come across keeps my eyes on the road and
my mind off my recent defeat. I then arrive at the place where my black flame
sprung to life. A place of demonic energy and a place where the old me died.
The old memories come back like the feeling of a night of drinking too much.
I remember that shy failure of a
girl who tried her best to become a naval officer for the Church that she
devoted herself to all too well. If only I could forget her after so many years
of trying. She was nothing but a failure at every turn. A waste of space that
could only turn heads when she was messing up. No accomplishment could make her
superiors or family proud of her. Coming here killed her so that the Queen of
the Seas could be born. They say one of the gates to Hell is here because of
the dark rituals that are done here or at least were done here.
It looks like the Church raided
this place and destroyed everything useful in drawing out the power of
the black flame. Everything, but the ritual marks and symbols, which are
covered by blessed objects that slowly erode them. I wish I had the sword that
was pierced through me so I wouldn’t have to keep using my own black flames to
create weapons. These black flame weapons break as soon as they touch the holy objects,
but the holy objects themselves break after much effort. With the seal broken,
the power within the dark symbols engulfs me and drags me into a realm of dark
fire and suffering. This truly looks like Hell from what I can see.
I say this because I can hardly see
anything despite the many black flames around the area. This is the black flame
at its purest. It’s a light that darkens and a flame that freezes, but for some
reason, the demons move away from me. Maybe my black flame has yet to be
perfected. Ah! I can use their fear of my flame against them.
“Hear me, fallen angels! Lend me
your power so I can bring more souls to Hell and destroy the Church you despise
so much,” I say.
The demons whisper to one another before
they begin to swirl around me. Yes! I can feel the chill of the black flame. I
can feel its power! Wait, where am I going? The floor below me opened up and I
fall all the way to what feels like the arctic. It’s so dark and unbelievably
cold that I can’t even move or see myself.
“G-give me your power! I nee-need
it! We can help each other!” I say to the demons wherever they are.
Why are they laughing at me? They
helped me before, why not now? I hear more whispering. This time it’s a
familiar voice that sounds like it’s getting closer. Suddenly, visions and
people from my past come to me and there’s no way for me not to see and ignore
them.
“You’re a failure of a daughter.
Failure of a sister.”
“A failure of a faithful.”
“You commit atrocities to cover for
your mistakes. Because you want to be remembered.”
“Because you want to be a legend.”
“How pathetic.”
“Queen of the Seas, queen of murder,
queen of plunder, queen of self-pity.”
“Queen of jealousy.”
“How pathetic.”
“Shut up! You will give me what I came
for!” I say to the demons while using my black flames to freeze everything around
me.
I can hear them screaming. There’s
also laughter among them.
“This will not change anything.”
“Foolish girl still has a trace of
the divine in her flames.”
“You repented before you were
thrown into the sea.”
“You will not be the legend that
you wanted to be.”
“You will not be remembered.”
“Not in Heaven nor in Hell.”
“The black flame is not welcomed
here. Only corrupted.”
“Foolish girl. How pathetic.”
“Shut up!”
Using my black flames, I scorch and
freeze all that I can without rest until I am propelled out of the dark dimension
and back into reality. The place where the symbols and marks were are now gone.
I wasted my time with the demons. My old crew was always more reliable than
them anyway, but I can’t even rely on them. I can only rely on myself. Can I even
do that? The dawn is almost here and my power will go back to what it once was.
It’s possible that I could grow my crew back to what it once was, but my sullied
reputation has made even my old crew and others turn their back on me. There is
one last thing I could do to give myself a small chance at respect. Mother,
sister, I’m coming back home.
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