Souls Entwined Through Time

As Felicia patiently waited for Alex to wake up, a suspicion entered her mind. What Alex had said about the mark on his wrist and the one on the sword being the same, was it what she was thinking?

Deciding to experiment as well, she grabbed his wrist and pressed her thumb hard into the infinity symbol. It grew hot and glowed. Felicia watched both herself and her brother's body dissolve. Their molecules twisted in the formation of the past and future before vanishing into a void. She felt all her sense go numb and could see nothing but darkness.

Strangely, she could still feel Alex in her grasp.

So, our souls truly are entwined. The Goddess did not just connect us across the times; she imprinted our essences onto the other. Alex and I are two halves of a whole now.

She felt herself grow heavy and knew that they were about to exit this strange space. It was not the same as the mists which existed for souls of the deceased. The teleportation magic had taken them into a Nexus. A series of corridors utilized by deities which flowed like rivers in the physical world, but existed in the skies. This was the same way the Goddess had first made her presence known to the people of the continent. 

Back then, even before the first Emperor Cromwell had taken on kingship, even before the formation of Elysium, the Goddess had broken through a Nexus in the sky and entered the physical plane. Seated on her golden stallion, adorned with a crown holding a giant red ruby and the Holy Sword raised in her hand, the Goddess had descended to purge the land. She had fought tirelessly and endlessly to slay all of the demonic entities who walked the earth in greater number than human beings.

In those times, the monsters feared no one and lavishly feasted upon the souls and flesh of the human population. 

Humanity was in a rapid state of decline and even the most powerful Aura Wielders and sun magic practitioners were unable to save their people from being targeted and slaughtered.

This all changed when Goddess Kartara rode down from the heavens. This was main the reason why the entire continent harbored immense respect for the Goddess. Even though they had their own religions and deities, all those who knew the history of the powerful Kartara paid homage to the religion of the Elysium empire.

Felicia landed inside the Emerald Room. Directly on the bed with Alex still in her arms.

So he was right. And so was I. I can use his mark even he's asleep. We can now travel on the same thread which the Goddess used over a hundred thousand years ago.

Felicia closed her eyes as she was struck with a strange vision. It was after the ancient fight against the Demon Lord. Back then he was immensely strong. Too strong for a Saintess to handle. And a huge challenge even for a deity as powerful as Goddess Kartara. Yet, she had succeeded.

After her conquest, the sky had split open once more and the Goddess had retreated back into the heavenly realms. 

However, shortly before the sky had closed and the Goddess's imposing figure had disappeared, she had dropped her sword. It had plummeted like a lightning bold and buried itself into the earth. Nobody had been able to pull it out. And so many had tried.

Felicia opened her eyes. "Until now. The Goddess has granted Alex what she did not grant to the millions who pulled at the Holy Sword before."

Suddenly Alex stirred on her lap and opened his eyes. "Felicia....did you see what I just saw?"

She smirked down at him. "As always. We always get the same memories and visions."

Alex sat up and looked around. "How did we end up here? Did the sword bring us here?"

"No, I did. With the help of your wrist," Felicia replied.

Alex glanced out the balcony, feeling puzzled. "How?"

"We can both use the infinity mark. But we can only do it together. The infinity always takes two, Alex. That's what is says on the Holy Sword. You fainted because you tried to do it yourself. The exertion was too much for your body to handle." Felicia smiled. "You teleported a step away from where you initially were. I then decided to test out your theory and teleported us both here."

Alex rubbed the back of his neck, feeling sheepish. "Well, that's quite embarrassing. I can't believe I fainted from that."

Felicia patted his thigh. "Don't feel bad. We now know more. And Alex, we'll be able to decipher the symbols on the sword with the red ruby. I can feel it in my gut. It's the missing piece of the puzzle which will solve everything. It keeps popping up. In our last lives. In this life. In our visions. After our deaths. Even in the mists when we met the Goddess and saw her eyes. The ruby was floating in between her eyes."

"Good point." Alex nodded. "You don't appear as depressed as you did earlier."

Felicia smirked. "It's the uncertainly that makes me feel fear, Alex. It's still there and I'm sure it'll rear its head again. But receiving visions from the Goddess always makes me feel as if we are one step closer to victory."

"Victory is still far off sister," Alex replied as he stood up, pulling Felicia to her feet. "Now let's head outside for training. Though it is still raining, the hail has let up."

Felicia quickly retreated inside her mother's large closet and swapped her dress for pants and a vest. Training under the rainstorm would be challenging, but that's what she needed right now.

When the devil attacks them, neither the weather nor the location will be of their choosing. They'll have to adjust to fighting under any and all circumstances.

The training lasted for the rest of the day. The Saintess and her Guardian took seldom breaks. They pushed their bodies to the limit. The rain pounded them ruthlessly. The winds tried to knock them off balance. And their hearts beat furiously.

Still, neither one was in the mood to quit.

At one point, some of the servants and knights gathered to watch. Sir Rover couldn't have been prouder of his pupil. Seeing the tiny lady training so hard to be a warrior filled his aged heart with excitement. He knew now that he would never abandon her. He would ensure she became the most skilled swordswoman in the empire.

The Duke heard about his children training and just shook his head before resuming his paperwork. How silly! Why not wait for the rainstorm to stop first? Even so, he smiled a little.

Helena was extremely jealous when she heard the servants and guards speak so appraisingly about Felicia. She went out to see and was shocked by the sight before her. Despite looking a mess in her drenched and mud stained clothes, Felicia truly looked the part of a fierce warrior. Helena felt intimidated knowing she could not do what Felicia could. She was even more angered to see Alex sparring with her and shaping her up to be so strong when he had never given her such attention in the past.

Once again, she rushed back into her room and cried bitterly. The image of a fearless Felicia wielding a sword wreaked havoc on her ego. She could no longer stand it. She would not be made to feel inferior any longer! Being a Saintess wasn't granting her the respect and adoration she desired her anymore. She needed to do more.

Starting tomorrow, I will also train with weapons. And I will become even better than Felicia.