The Duke's Unwanted Wife

The grand halls of the Church of Ducroft were silent and solemn. The inner halls were particularly off limits to visitors, home to several rooms that the Saintess carried out various rituals. The room was tightly guarded by several guards and several attendants stood by the door. All of them seemed to ignore the peculiar noises and light flashing beneath the door.    

    

The noises abruptly stopped and the door opened. Adelie walked out, covered in sweat, making the white gown she wore transparent. The side of her lips down to her gown was dripping with a suspicious red liquid. None of the guards dared to look in her direction as she wasn’t wearing anything under the gown. She turned to the attendants by the door.    

    

“Clean the mess up,” she commanded, accepting the blue cloak they held. Without saying a word, they filed into the room while she walked in the opposite direction. Two guards flanked her, one handing her a scroll.    

    

“A summons from his majesty, huh? Well, I guess some things never change. Prepare a carriage for me, I’m going to the palace.”    

    

“Yes, your holiness.”    

    

As they turned the corner, they suddenly stopped, their vigilance heightened. Blocking their path were two women they were sure were not allowed in the inner halls of the temple. Natalia smiled at Adelie.    

    

“I see you are owning up to your title as the Saintess of Depravity, Adelie.”    

    

The guards pointed their swords at her, the swords glowing with an ominous blue light, something that could easily be recognized as holy magic. Adelie held her hand up and they lowered their weapons.    

    

“There must be a reason the illustrious Natalia Adamantine is here to visit me and with a god no less.”    

    

“You have something of mine and I’ve come to collect it.”    

    

“What exactly are you talking about? I have stolen a lot of things from you so you’ll have to be very specific.”    

    

“I’m so glad you admitted it. Truly, it saves me a lot of trouble,” Natalia replied, a somewhat innocent smile spreading across her face. Adelie braced for a fight but soon found her vision going dark. She heard the sound of heavy armor hitting the floor and could smell a distinct scent of metal.    

    

“Do you like my present? I found the strain of the plague you spread and infected every single one of your maidens. You have a certain immunity to it but if you keep regularly taking it into your body, just how will it affect you, I wonder?”    

    

“YOU…I WILL KILL YOU, NATALIA!”    

    

“I know you want to but you have never actually succeeded. You should try harder if you’re really serious about killing me. Don’t worry, you won’t die. I just need something important from you.”    

    

Adelie’s body was too weak to actually fight against Natalia. They were able to take her away without anyone being the wiser. They appeared directly inside Aldie’s Hollow where Quene and Marvis were waiting with the unconcious Alana. Right outside the giant shell, three platforms had been erected in the middle of a giant magic circle. Natalia lay Adelie on one of the platforms while Marvis lay Alana on another.    

    

“The moment you lay on the third platform, the circle will be activated. I don’t know what will happen after that but if you can succeed in turning the hands of time, it should be fine.”    

    

“Don’t say it like it’s so easy, Quene,” Natalia said, chuckling anxiously. She exhaled shakily, staring at the platform. Marvis moved closer to her, his body also dyed with blood. He must’ve had a hard time sneaking Alana out in one piece, especially with a furious Fredrich on his heels.    

    

“We don’t have much time before we are discovered, Natalia,” Quene said. Madaline didn’t say anything, knowing she was nervous. The first time she reversed time, she did so unconsciously and died without attachments. Now, she had too many attachments to just let go of, especially since so many things had been changed because of her actions.    

    

“What’s wrong?” Marvis asked softly, holding her hand.    

    

“If…If I do this, I will go back to a time we wouldn’t be together. So many things can go wrong. Madaline has already ascended. It won’t be the same anymore.”    

    

“That’s scary, isn’t it?”    

    

“I’m terrified,” she replied, her voice cracking. Her resolve was shaking but it wasn’t like they could force her to go on the platform.    

    

“If you happen to return to a time when the both of were strangers, all you have to do is reach out to me again and I will take your hand. You’re my destiny, Natalia. Never forget that.”    

    

Natalia held his face, kissing him deeply. He kissed her back with everything he had, both of them trying to assuage their fears. Quene looked away awkwardly while Madaline started to sing. It was a fae folk song from centuries ago but the seemingly normal plants around the Hollow started to light up. Her voice echoed and it seemed like she wasn’t the only one singing anymore. Marvis finally pulled away and stepped back.    

    

Clenching her fists, Natalia walked up to the third platform and lay on it. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes. Madaline’s song rang in her ears as she slowly released all her mana. It was an enormous amount that was enough to sweep the entire hollow away but Madaline’s song kept them grounded. Her appearance rapidly changed and the magic circle activated, a black smudge slowly climbing up the platforms.    

    

The smudge climbed up to cover them both, covering their faces last. Marvis looked at her and saw the single tear trickling down her eyes. He transformed, trying to make his way to her but he could never make it. As soon as her face was completely covered, time stopped.    

    

In the middle of the circle, something white started to emerge. When it completely emerged, it was a person, a being that vaguely resembled Nataroth. Blood dropped like tears from her eyes as she opened her mouth, releasing a scream. From her arms, two heads emerged, both screaming as they made their way out of her body. She clawed at her eyes and torso, the black smudge spilling out of the circle.    

    

Outside of the hollow, everything had stopped. The expedition force sent by the King of Ducroft, the gods descending from the heavenly court to stop Madaline, the holy knights searching for Adelie, Ariella’s child birth and Princess Temara’s hands authorizing the royal decree.    

    

The smudge spread quickly, covering everything it touched. It engulfed everything and everyone, leaving nothing behind. It completely covered the globe at an inconceivable speed and it started to fracture. The two heads peeking from her arms were almost fully out and with every move they made, the globe fractured more.    

    

Covered with the black smudge, the cave that held the divine birds was eerily silent. However, from the black smudge, a patch of orange appeared. It started to spread but not as fast as the black smudge. From the orange patch, a hand emerged. Once the hand was out, the head of a man appeared, then his torso and the rest of his body. He was completely naked with an eerie handsomeness incomparable to any mortal.    

    

He walked atop the black smudge, a patch of orange appeared beneath his feet so he never touched the smudge. He appeared to be walking slowly but he soon reached the Hollow from the ends of the world, standing before Nataroth. Her bloodied eyes lay on him and she suddenly became quiet.    

    

He disappeared from where he was standing, appearing beside her. He raised his hand and a piece of the static heavenly court moved. The body of an angel statue broke into pieces and began to form into a large sword. It pierced the heavenly court, coming to land in his hands.    

    

Using the sword, he decapitated the head of the screaming figures coming out from her arms. It was finally silent as their bodies slowly dissipated. The cracking stopped and calm was restored to the world.    

    

“E-Egerth…” Nataroth spoke, her body slowly disintegrating. The man, who was expressionless the entire time, finally smiled.    

    

“I promised to wait for you and I will wait for you. Don’t worry about us and just go. We will always be with you.”    

    

“Egerth, please don’t leave me again! Please! I beg you!”    

    

“I love you, Nataroth,” the figure of Egerth superimposed with Marvis’s, their somber smile remaining the same. Nataroth’s body disintegrated, leaving a crying Natalia in the middle. Just like Nataroth, her tears were bloody and her body was also disintegrating. However, instead of fading away, she was visibly deaging, similar to the first time she reversed time unknowingly.    

    

It didn’t stop until she became a child, surrounded by darkness. The familiar chains that held her in her childhood were back on her wrist. The darkness slowly faded away to reveal a dark room with the only light source being the sun in the high window. She was finally back in the past, reverting a total of ten years once more.