Ethereal Paradigm

-Mariane Moore

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I can still clearly recall, the myriad of events that likely led me to this situation. My older brother, the heir of the Cendrillon aristocracy killed my family that night. He plummeted to his mad selfish ambitions and to the deepest pit of dementia itself. Precedent, with the skill set he learned from his various experiences and his tier-one educators, I could tell that he had no difficulty and whatsoever on killing them, even going against swordsmen of great renown. The moment I seemed to annoy him, he tried to kill me with a gun at point-blank range. I was helpless. Lost. Sad. Alone.

This is where the G.o.ddess, out of nowhere made her quite elegant entrance whilst completely delaying the flow of time. She claimed to be Lacrimosa, the G.o.ddess of Disambiguation. She handed this weird contract that I knew nothing of, which I read frivolously, even skipping the terms and conditions that could have explained every bit of the bizarre that bombards me to no end these days. The G.o.ddess, then made me sign the contract and along with it, a wish of mine was granted, to nullify every bit of emotions that overwhelmed me greatly that moonlit night. In exchange, she said, she"ll be taking my freedom.

That day, I became what she called the "Monochrome" in her empty canvas, but to this day, I never knew what it means to be "that" really. I just continued living life the same, except I am emotionless. I can"t feel fear, sadness nor any kind of emotional pain. I was then taken care of by my financially-conservative grandma and a cascade of years later was enrolled in a University in an artificial island east of j.a.pan- the International Clark City. Here I met a girl of famed origin, Celes Reignsworth. I was expecting another mundane school year, but that was not the case. The moment I agreed to form the pact with Lacrimosa, I was somewhat foolish to think that everything will be the same, I should have expected that none will remain deescalated.

And now, here I am, together with the so-called Prima Donna, in the rooftop of a vast building both having someone powerful at our side, claiming themselves as deities, wielders of immense authority that could outmaneuver natural laws at will.

Huh? Why the flashbacks now?

Is this what they call "memory-flashes-before-you-make-your -final-exit-in-life"?

Hopefully, it"s not.

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"Too bad though, that this meeting would be our first and last." the phantom deity said while taking off his right hand"s glove, signaling that a major conflict is in its brink. In my mind, Carl Orff"s Carmina Burana was playing in the highest volume, a cla.s.sical composition that would best describe the predicament that I am in.

"Teheee~. I can see you never changed there Deus Ex. So quick to judge and hasty in making decisions. You are nothing but an empty cog machine. Unable to think independently. ", Lacrimosa answered, without a taint of fear nor a minuscule feeling of being intimidated by the threat of the opposing deity. The line, however, made me realize that this encounter is not to be taken lightly.

However, Lacrimosa was there, with complete confidence in her face. I wonder where this would lead me? One thing is certain though, that this is troublesome. How I wish to turn back time and just go to an electronics store to buy second-hand technological essences from the pocket money from my conservative grandma. Unfortunately, that is not happening.

Amidst the questions and my physical and mental weariness, what I find interesting to think about was in accordance with Celes, who was designated to be a "Herrscher" of the proclaimed Phantom. Unfortunately, what that means is something I know nothing of.

I wonder how Celes is reacting? Is she somewhat as confused as I am? Does she also find this a little bit too superficial?

The moment I took a glimpse of her, those opinions were wiped away in an instant. The Prima Donna, standing valiantly in the side of the phantom of the opera while holding a majestic sword was not reacting the way how I envisioned. While we are a little distant, it is apparent that Celes already knew of everything. And in her eyes was not of a confused nor a fragile-hearted girl"s, but of a gallant knight"s in an all-out war and there is a still endeavor for something that I can"t explain.

"Young man, while it may be unfortunate that you"re mixed up too well, none of this is your fault. It"s Lacrimosa"s, for choosing the most inconsequential of choices", Deus, having ignored the confident words of the lady of disambiguation turned to talk to me instead.

"My, my! What choice could he be pertaining to I wonder?" Lacrimosa responded in retaliation, but still with the confident stature.

"Huh? Ridiculous. Did you decide to team up with those corrupted deities right? So you could continue making men your official plaything in your boredom. You have gone too far back!" Deus replied with a very angry demeanor and his composure s.h.i.+fted to that of a rational being to an unreasonable ent.i.ty.

Plaything? Wait, can you even call a deity corrupt? Aren"t they pure? Thoughts came flying to my mind but were interrupted by an additional, coming from the phantom deity himself.

"Listen to m young man. Agreeing to form an allegiance with this G.o.ddess was but the worst sin you ever committed, and I am rather sorry to say that there is currently no means of retribution for that sin. But first, I must justify why you need to be erased from the face of the Earth."

"Interesting, now we get to have some serious back story" Lacrimosa, knowing that there"s no stopping me from clearing my questions from exploding said, that implied that I can ask the phantom deity himself.

"Why? What did she do exactly?" I asked.

"That G.o.ddess. Have you ever wondered how she became one? "

I continued lending an ear without doing anything in particular, same as what Celes had been doing this whole time, pretending to be in the sidelines when in fact she was the one who spelled this predicament upon me.

"I take that as a no. Then allow me to debunk the clandestine secrets beneath the curtains. Have you ever heard of "The Great Depression"? That was one of the Obra Maestra of the lady."

"And? what happened?"

"That point in history, everything was so limited that even the elites had a hard time finding bread to eat. Apparently, in its plague, half of the empires of the world had been wiped out and a third of the entire population dropped dead whilst in poverty. As that happened, mourning was everywhere, requiems were sung at every corner and sadness plunged the whole world to the outer darkness where everyone drowned in utter despair. "

"Then?"

"Ahem. Pardon that I may have explained it a little inadequate. For extrapolation, I must ask you this, do you know from which Lacrimosa draws her power from?"

I looked at Lacrimosa, and her expression spelled that I must insist on going on with the flashbacks.

"She"s called the lady of disambiguation, so maybe from sadness perhaps?" I answered nonchalantly.

"Yes. And from that point in time alone, having the great depression envelop the whole world made her seem to be equal to that of the heavenly magistrates or perhaps to primordial deities as she had an infinite source of power draw from her influence over the populations" sorrows, when in fact she was just a low-tier spirit moments ago. She was then interrogated by the heavenly guards, and our magistrates had no other choice but to give her a t.i.tle of a "G.o.ddess" as she already surpa.s.sed the limits and so that, everyone in the realm can keep an eye of her. But, she was rarely showing. She is even irresponsible and would skip discussions of importance. She is so lenient and was so unfit of the t.i.tle of a G.o.ddess. And now here she is! Finally showing herself as a major delegate of a very important game. The warfare between fates."

Oh, so that"s how it was. I also found it a little unconvincing as to how someone like her is a natural-born G.o.ddess. But she must have lived a life of an outcast like me. Or even worse...

For the second time, I looked at her, but still, she wore the confident stature that seemed undaunted of having her foreground told.

But...

There is no faking it Lacrimosa. I have the natural talent of telling how someone feels deep inside. You may be an unreadable G.o.ddess at some times, but I know...you are dully bothered.

"Then?"

"Huh? What do you mean by "then"? Young man? The one whom you agreed to form the contract is but an outcast and the puppet of the devil"

"Devil? You say?" I was somewhat insulted as to how she portrayed Lacrimosa. Calling someone a puppet of the devil just because they killed, without knowing anything on the proper scenes. I know and I feel, that this G.o.ddess here did that due to a reason, and there is nothing wrong with that. Well, it"s not like I know anything of the sorts, but I know that Lacrimosa is someone who would not resort to a ma.s.s killing via unreasonable rampages. If that"s the case, she would have had been the one to kill my brother, instead of waiting for the perfect timing for me to do it.

"I must be honest here. Herrschers? What is that supposed to be? Game? Setting it simple, I have no idea as to what drivel you have been talking about, but let me say this instead...a story is nothing but fiction if it can"t let the audience understand the side of the villain" I added.

"VIllain? That"s a rather interesting view." Lacrimosa b.u.t.ted in the conversation while gus.h.i.+ng forth this rather malevolent chuckles.

"Wait, what? Did you not read the terms and conditions upon signing the contract? How could you not know of the fundamentals?"

"Fortunately, no. Why would I? I was born to lead, not to read, and how am I supposed to do just that, given the detrimental situation I was in?"

"Ahhh. This is certainly not good. The G.o.ddess already had drowned him, he"s been tainted by the adversary. There is no saving him now. Celes, can you do the pleasure please?" Deus Ex ecstatically said.

"Yes, your excellency" Celes finally talked, answering the call of the phantom deity.

Celes then stepped out ready to engage in battle, once again pointing her sword in our direction.

"Lacrimosa. Care to explain to me the quota?"

"Way to speak for someone who called me a villain."

"If you have problems with that then-"

"I don"t have any objections to that, besides, I like it. The t.i.tle of a villain more than that of my current t.i.tle of "G.o.ddess".

"Hmm. Just don"t forget that you have so many things to explain to me later"

While we were still right in the middle of a discussion, we were interrupted by these words that seemed to be an enchanting spell...

"Thou art by the Primordial paradox, I command thee, to strengthen thou blade. Enhance, Velderick"s Trancy!" Celes, as she was about to dash forth towards us made her silver sword turn mauve in color and from it, I can feel an ominous power.

"Jaiden, it was nice knowing you. " With all might, she dashed towards us and was ready to slash me into smithereens. But before the sword could even reach a meter away, Lacrimosa stepped in and opened a dark portal in front of me.

"As my Herrscher. The monochrome in my canvas. Jaiden Cendrillon, I hereby command you to bare a ratio of my power" The G.o.ddess ordered. Come to think of it, it"s the first time I received a command from her.

"Yes. Your highness." I answered.

"You are interesting" she then dragged me to the black portal and she followed afterward.

At the slowly closing portal, I can see Celes trying to follow us, but failed as the portal closed in haste.

Inside, I can"t see anything. It was too dark. But, around my neck, I can sense the G.o.ddess"s embrace. One that is impossible to tell if it is obligatory or just another act to enhance here "feminine" countenance.

"Hmmm. Can you stop saving me already? It"s a little contradictory to my gender equality policies. And please stop your hugging. It"s not cute ."

"Not cute you say? Very well said for someone whose fl.u.s.tered. Well in terms of saving you, a Damsel in distress is always ought to be saved by someone more superior"

"Yeah right, and is this someone "superior" you?. But first thing"s first, why did you bring me here? Where is this anyway?"
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"Just nothing. It"s a realm that I created. I call it "Eve".It"s where time moves slowly, a second in here is three minutes and a half back at your world. "

"Oh? So basically, this is a realm that bends the concept of time. How cliche. Moreover, If I must say, this looks like a bedroom of a shut-in NEET. It"s pretty dark" In all honesty, all I can see is Lacrimosa from the light that her body seemed to emanate. So G.o.ds are glow in the dark perhaps?

"My my. Calm down." She then raised her right hand and caused a large echoing flicker. As the echo began to silence, a calm and soothing claret light then radiated from above which severed the thick darkness that engulfed the vast emptiness prior. I looked and there, were giant crimson crystal clear chandeliers unfathomable in numbers, which seemed left hanging on nothing but a cloud of light. The floor was very ambient and beautiful. The tile-design took the perfect pattern of a chessboard as far as the eye could see. In the distance was a staircase laid with fine maroon linen leading to a n.o.ble throne with a medieval theme and at the back was a gargantuan painting that depicts Eve in the garden of Eden eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge with a fiery red basilisk serving as her crown. And in the throne, Lacrimosa began perching, with both of her arms laid on the porcelain-colored manchettes. It"s a pretty minimalist place. But, I was wrong about one thing though. Calling it cliche.