Records of Rebirth

It was scary.

The blue of Ophelia's eyes shone so strongly, they stood out against the backdrop of the battle, and so mesmerising were they to look at that everything else in Arsinoe's vicinity seemed to fade away.

The noises of the battle around her grew dull, things vanished as they became out of focus, like Morgana and her monster – even Typhon vanished from view.

Arsinoe found herself unable to look away from those blue pools that threatened to draw her in.

And yet they were so cold.

The more she stared at them, the more her body heat receded, and she became as stiff as stone. If Ophelia were to ask anything of her at that very moment, she had no will left to refuse her.

But just when Arsinoe thought it was all over for her, Ophelia's intensely glowing eyes grew dull, and she drifted down, unable to remain floating in the air.

Arsinoe found she could move her body again, and as Ophelia headed towards her, she saw her eyes had returned to their normal welcoming hue.

Still, her first instinct was to leap back in fear.

Although she didn't understand much of anything, Arsinoe knew danger when she saw it.

It was only after this involuntary reaction that she realised Ophelia may find her actions offensive.

Fortunately, the captain didn't seem to notice. She approached her like her usual self and even patted her head. Arsinoe immediately forgot her fear when she felt the familiar soothing sensation, but when Ophelia spoke, her voice carried a hint of sorrow.

[I need you to take Morgana away when things calm down. You can place her in a cell, but make sure she isn't wounded any further.] 

[I shouldn't…]

[I…]

Ophelia seemed at a loss for words and Arsinoe noticed she was trembling ever so slightly.

[I shouldn't have gotten so angry.] Ophelia said. [I went too far. I don't think she'll ever trust me again.]

Her words seemed to be directed more at herself than anything, and Arsinoe was now confused, because why did she look so upset after everything Morgana did.

Suddenly she felt offended on her behalf. [Don't feel bad for her! She deserves it for killing Typhon!]

[Not dead.]

A hoarse voice called out from the pile of corpses and they both swirled around with equal amounts of joy.

The two serpents rushed over to Typhon, setting down on either side of him.

[Brother, How are you feeling?!] Ophelia anxiously asked. [Are you okay? Tell me what I can do?]

[I'm not hurt.] Typhon grumbled at her fussing.

This stubbornness only made Arsinoe tremble.

Although he said he wasn't hurt, his scales were covered in many scrapes and there was a large wound across his underbelly. Seeing this, her heart burst with rage as she joined Ophelia to sob.

[But you're not okay!]

How could Morgana hurt him to this extent?

Typhon scowled at the two of them. [Stop looking at me like I'm going to die. It's only a scratch.]

But as he spoke more blood trickled out of his wound, causing Arsinoe to panic.

[Don't speak anymore.] She cried out in concern. [Don't move either!]

Ophelia, on the other hand, was scowling at him in annoyance.

[What do you mean by only a scratch?!]

Typhon sighed at her anxious face. [I'm more concerned with what happened to you. Whose blood is that?]

Ophelia looked at her bloodstained appearance, before sighing like she'd forgotten.

[It's a long story, I'll tell you later. For now, don't talk.]

She continued fussing over his injuries, with Arsinoe crying nearby like a grieving widow.

Until Typhon turned to stare at her.

When Arsinoe saw his irritated gaze, she yelped in shock from being startled.

He wasn't going to push her away for touching him, right?

But Typhon seemed upset as he looked at her. [What were you doing trying to shield me? Do you want to get hurt?] 

[Ah...I.]

Could she say she wanted to protect him?

Somehow she couldn't look at him because her vision had become blurry.

[Don't ever do that again.] Typhon said in anger.

[I-I won't!] Arsinoe nervously replied. [It was only an accident.]

Typhon turned away from her to rest, and his bleeding caused Ophelia to sob anxiously.

Although the battle raged on around them, it was like they were in their own personal bubble.

But as soon as her shock passed, it took Arsinoe only a moment to realise the battlefield was different. 

Strangely there were less sounds than before, and when she looked up from behind the corpses, something savagely attacked a nearby scorpion.

Arsinoe was shocked to see a large silver wolf, running through the battlefield. 

What was a wolf doing here?

Accompanying it were several other wolves that ran that attacked the scorpions in turn, but surprisingly, none of the nestlings or Veladrys were harmed, which made it even more confusing.

Further down, she saw Apollo trying to quell the frantic bottom feeders with limited success.

There were too many of them and he was having some difficulty, but so far none had attacked him, and he managed to make them stop attacking the nestlings who were still fighting.

However, the battle was still ongoing with several more scorpions seeking to break through the support beams the Veladrys had constructed. There were also many injured nestlings, and she couldn't see Lyra or Europa anywhere.

With Ophelia back and the wolves fighting along with them, they had regained some control, but the battle was still far from over.

[How bad is it? How many casualties?] Typhon pulled himself up to ask.

His injuries were still bleeding, and Ophelia kept looking at him with concern.

[Stop crying. We'll be fine.] Arsinoe heard him say, and she looked over at the pair in jealousy.

[Our teams are still intact, but many are injured.] she replied. [Morgana took away our healers and I don't know what she's done with them. We won't last long without them.]

Typhon grimaced in anger as he surveyed the battlefield.

[I can try subduing them.] Ophelia suggested.

[No.] Typhon replied. [There's too many of them, and our traps are destroyed. You'll run out of mana before you make a dent in their numbers.]

He was right.

Even with all of Morgana monsters subdued, there were still many threats. Although the Veladrys had reinforced the wall, many scorpions were still coming through, and with their traps in disarray, it was impossible to hold them back.

Ophelia cannot control the spread on her own, even if she tried, and with the battle nearing its climax, they were out of options.

Arsinoe looked downcast. [What do we do?]

[We rescue as many as we can and…] Typhon started to say, but Ophelia stopped listening when she noticed something flash in the middle of the battlefield.

A tall, black pillar of lightning had appeared out of nowhere, scorching the ground until it resembled charcoal.

The large scorpion that was unlucky enough to be below it, was cleanly split in two, the two halves of its body falling away to reveal something in the middle.

What was that?

Ophelia strained her eyes, because she wasn't completely sure.

The creature had a suffocating, ominous aura, the likes she'd never experienced before.

Its horned appearance was positively devilish, the shadowy, serpentine body resembling some sort of smoky mirage, and when it spread its wings, it seemed to embody darkness itself.

Its smoky wings cast an abnormally large shadow across the battlefield, causing all the creatures around it to stop their battles, before fleeing in fear.

The nestlings were no different. 

In the presence of danger, they also drew as far away from the creature as they could and Ophelia watched this scene with anxiety, because how could their difficult battle have taken such a devastating turn.

Why did a new monster suddenly appear?!

Typhon didn't need to ask her what she'd seen because he felt it too, but he was surprised when her fearful expression changed to a happy one.

Ophelia thought she was imagining it at first, but when she locked eyes with the creature, it seemed to stop and think before withdrawing the chilling, supressing aura it emitted, as if realising it made a mistake. 

Although its efforts were already too late.

Seeing this, Ophelia fell back, laughing with tears in her eyes, much to the confusion of Typhon and Arsinoe.

The aura was different, but it was definitely her. 

'She' had returned just in time to save them, yet again.

Unfortunately, Ophelia wasn't able to break the news to them because something else caught her attention. In the distance, the monsters that had fled seemed to have been ambushed by something.

There were monstrous growls coming from many places and she didn't know how, but the forest had started to burn. Bright purple flames arose from everywhere, and a toxic smog had settled heavily in the air.

With a fire fast approaching, the Veladrys present were even more confused.

Previously they were about to be overrun, but now that they saw a fire breathing monster approaching, their fear intensifies as they lose all hope.

Yet, Ophelia recognised that creature.

This was her very first mount!

And Typhon grumbled in annoyance from beside her.

[Didn't that lizard get too big?]