From one Holy City to Another

[Kyrie]

What is this place? Kyrie looked around in what appeared to be an abandoned holy city that reminded her of home but she knew in her heart it couldn't be. She has been running for so long, searching for Nero and now Nero was nowhere to be found and she didn't even know where she was or how she got there. Lost as lost could be.

How pathetic.

Kyrie entered into the holy temple and walked between two rows of pews in the large, hollow sanctuary. Her eyes scanning over the images of the 12 disciples, Mary mother of Jesus and of course Jesus himself who was found near the end on a looking as miserable as she felt. These people worshiped saints, not demons who awoke to justice. It was ironic, she and her people worshiped a fallen General of Mundus and she could not accept, not even for a moment...

That the blood coursing through her veins was half devil. Never will she accept it.

Never.

[Sparda]

"Wow..."

This voice was almost reverent in its low volume, and echoed hauntingly in the vast, empty halls of the cathedral; as did a pair of light, carefully placed footsteps. Idly pushing his monocle a tad further up the bridge of his nose, the velvet-clad man who had walked into the building a little after Kyrie wandered inwards from the large doorway, glancing casually about himself, sensible of the young woman's presence but not looking at her for the longest time.

Finally, he turned his cerulean gaze upon her, the corner of his mouth curled into a smile. "The last time I saw this place, I was part of a battle to prevent its destruction..."

Just as quickly, his expression turned a little sourer, and he uttered a sigh. "We lost, if memory serves... But it's a little comforting to see my first home in this mad place restored."

He cast a passing glance upwards to regard the stained-glass windows above the altar with a somewhat detached recognition. He had never thought much of Christianity; he'd seen far too much of the worst of its followers. Angels, though, never ceased to interest him.

"Are you new to Genesis, by any chance, my dear?" he asked the young woman, again directing his eyes to her.

[Kyrie]

Kyrie turned around at the sound of another person's voice situated behind her but as soon as she did the young woman froze in place as the man standing before her was the last man she ever expected to see. The reason for it was a fairly simple one. He was dead.

The Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, the man who awoken to justice and sacrificed himself to seal the portals to the Demon Realm and spare humanity of a terrible fate at the hands of Mundus and his armies. A man that the Order of the Sword and all of Fortuna worshiped and revered as a god. All Kyrie could do was drop to her knees and bow her head.

"M-my lord! You're alive!" Kyrie crawled over to Sparda's feet and placed a hand on the bottom of his coat, closing her eyes to praise and lift up his name.

[Sparda]

Well, this didn't happen too often.

Sparda was thankfully no total stranger to adulation; he had known many humans to idolise him over the centuries. But the feeling had become somewhat foreign to the Dark Knight after so long, as it often did, and having this young woman suddenly cry out in recognition and prostrate herself before him took him quite aback.

"Woah, woah, hold on a moment," came his response, stumbling over its words for a moment. He bent down to place a hand on her upper arm and bring her to her feet. "I don't believe I've met you before..."

He paused. On second glance, this gilded gold and white dress of hers struck a chord of familiarity. "Wait, I know that style of dress..." He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "You're from Fortuna, aren't you? Why, I haven't seen that place in hundreds of years."

[Kyrie]

Kyrie was quiet at first with tears mixed of joy and sorrow at the sight of the Legendary Dark Knight as her surrounding was not much more than a blur to the White Mage, even his voice was hard to focus on as she looked up to him and spoke. "Am I dead?" She couldn't remember being close to death. Had the Order caught up to her while she was sleeping? Everything was spinning so fast in her mind she didn't know. Before Kyrie could say anything more to the Dark Knight her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell backward through the air and away from his grace. Fainted.

[Sparda]

Kyrie would not hit the floor. The demon she had grown up worshipping was quick to come to the fainted woman's rescue, gloved hands slipping beneath her and stopping her fall. Chuckling mirthfully to himself, the Dark Knight allowed himself a smile before adjusting his hold upon her into a bridal carry and rose to his feet.

He carried her across the great church hall and gently laid her down upon one of the pews on the front row. Sunlight filtered through the stained glass windows above, bathing the young woman in a radiant plume of colour. The demon, stepping away, gave another smile; even in the midst of the horrors he had witnessed, his heart was lifted by such moments of unintruded calm and serenity.

Idly tugging at his gloves, Sparda waited for her to awake.

[Kyrie]

Kyrie's private thoughts betrayed the serenity that appeared on the outside as she could see Nero before her, screaming. Monster! No, Nero! It's not true please listen to me! Monster! He ran her through with his sword, no mercy or regret visible in his eyes as Kyrie gasp, the necklace Nero had given her falling slowly from her neck and towards the ground, second before shattering from impact the White Mage would awaken in a scream. "NERO!" Kyrie grabbed her necklace, feeling the golden miniature of the four-winged angel still around her neck, a thumb brushing across the red crystal in the center as it let out a dim glow and she released a sigh of relief as everything was coming back to her.

"Only a dream." But what wasn't a dream was the resurrection of her god being by her side. Ashamed by her recent actions the White Mage quickly returned to the ground and bowed her head too ashamed to even lift her face off of the ground when she finally spoke. "F-forgive me!" She trembled in fear. What if he sensed the devil half inside of her too? What if he tried to kill her because of it?

What if...

[Sparda]

"NERO!"

The girl's sudden scream surprised the demon watching over her. He craned his neck backwards a little, tilting his head, and watched with a concern frown as she bolted upright and looked around, slowly calming back down.

Then he caught her eye again - and again, she threw herself at his feet, this time beseeching his forgiveness. For what, he wasn't quite sure, if not for making a fool of herself in his presence. He could only chuckle.

"My dear, you have nothing to apologise for," came his response. He knelt before her, placing his right hand beneath her chin to guide her up into a kneeling position and make eye contact with her. All the while, he wore a warm, easy smile that sought to calm her.

"I can tell you're confused, so let's start from the top. What's your name?"

[Kyrie]

Kyrie looked up just in time to feel the Dark Knight's hand beneath her chin a sudden calmness taking over her in response to the demon's kindness as she was now knelt before him as she should be. "I can tell you're confused, so let's start from the top. What's your name?" "Kyrie, Head General of the Order of the Sword: Holy Knights. What is this place?"

[Sparda]

"Kyrie. What a fittingly beautiful name." Sparda gave a disarming smile and straightened up, helping Kyrie to her feet as he went, before he set about answering her question.

"Not our world, that much is certain. We're on a continent called Jherra, on the planet of Genesis. This city in particular is Aircano... or New Aircano, as is perhaps more appropriate." He took a moment to glance about at the hall again, still scarcely believing his eyes. "It was erased from the face of the planet months ago in a battle with a servant of the world's chief god. What force might have restored it, I really don't know..."

[Kyrie]

Kyrie blushed slightly at the compliment to her name. On her feet the White Mage listened to, "Not our world, that much is certain. We're on a continent called Jherra, on the planet of Genesis. This city in particular is Aircano... or New Aircano, as is perhaps more appropriate." "We're on a different planet?" Kyrie needed to sit down. Stepping back she sat down on the nearest pew available and tried to breathe normally. A different planet. She was running away from members of her own Order who used to serve under her, lost them to look for her brother and then transported to a new world? "H-how did I get here? I don't understand how something like this can even be possible."

[Sparda]

Kyrie's questions were entirely anticipated by her interlocutor. Maintaining his easy smile, Sparda took a seat beside her upon the pew, leaning forwards to prop himself up on his elbows and watch her facial expression. The poor girl really didn't have a clue what had happened to her.

"The honest answer is that I don't know," the Dark Knight responded. "As far as I can gather, people have just been plucked from their home universes and dropped here without rhyme or reason."

He leaned back, glancing across at the altar. "What I am certain of, though, is that the Downward Spiral is at the heart of this mess. You've likely seen it already; it's the enormous tower off to the west."

[Kyrie]

"The honest answer is that I don't know. As far as I can gather, people have just been plucked from their home universes and dropped here without rhyme or reason." That showed how serious the situation was to Kyrie right there. When even the Legendary Dark Knight didn't know what was going on. To think things were actually simpler when she was being chased down by her own people. What she wouldn't give for everything to return back to the way they were. That her brother would be resurrected and her sins with Nero would be forgotten. But that wasn't going to happen.

"What I am certain of, though, is that the Downward Spiral is at the heart of this mess. You've likely seen it already; it's the enormous tower off to the west." "I haven't actually. I was running and the next thing I knew I ended up here. Entered this temple and that's when you found me. I haven't exactly had much time for sight seeing."

[Sparda]

She hadn't even glimpsed the Spiral? It was damn near impossible to miss, such was its immense height. Kyrie made it sound like she'd been in this world for literally minutes before he came across her.

Blinking and leaning forward again, the Dark Knight returned his gaze from the peripheral sights around him to his confused companion.

"So, what's your story? It sounds as if Fortuna's had some misfortunes since my disappearance."

[Kyrie]

"So, what's your story? It sounds as if Fortuna's had some misfortunes since my disappearance." "The Order has lost their way. They've lost sight of everything that is true." Kyrie wrapped her arms around herself and rocked herself slightly on the pew in an ill attempt to comfort herself as she told the story. "They were experimenting on demons, mixing their blood with their own people and creating engineered demon half breeds and disguising them as gifted humans. They don't even know they have devil's blood coursing through their veins. When I found out they considered me a threat to their research and I was cast out before I could spread the word to anyone. Had I stayed they would have killed me."