The sound of steel cutting through flesh echoed through the library.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Nobody spoke.
Then Alexandria's head struck the floor.
Thud.
"What happen in here?"
Siera's eyes widened.
"No!!"
The world seemed to stop.
The body collapsed moments later.
The Cards of Fate scattered across the room, their golden light slowly fading.
"No..."
Her staff slipped from her fingers.
"NO!"
Siera ran forward.
Dropping to her knees beside Alexandria's body, she desperately raised her hands.
"SERENE HEALING!"
"HALO"S LIGHT"
"GREATER HEAL"
Brilliant white light poured from her palms.
Nothing happened.
She cast again.
And again.
And again.
"Please!"
Her voice broke.
"Please work!"
Tears streamed down her face.
The healing magic dissolved before it could even reach him.
His head lay several feet away.
His eyes were still open.
Empty.
Gone.
Dead.
Siera trembled.
Then slowly turned her head toward the party.
Toward the people she had traveled with for years.
Toward the people she had trusted.
"What..."
Her voice shook.
"What have you done?"
Nobody answered.
"What have you DONE?!"
Leon sighed.
"Siera, calm down—"
"CALM DOWN?!"
The library shook.
Her aura exploded outward.
White mana flooded the room.
"You murdered him!"
Leon frowned.
"You don't understand."
"No."
Siera stood.
Her body trembled with rage.
"You don't understand."
She pointed toward Alexandria's corpse.
"He trusted us."
Her voice cracked.
"He trusted YOU."
She turned toward Tina.
And saw the poison dagger still buried in his chest.
The same dagger she had used countless times to protect the party.
Now stained with Alexandria's blood.
Siera stared.
Disbelief.
Horror.
Then hatred.
"And you..."
Tina flinched.
"Siera"
"You."
Tears rolled down Siera's cheeks.
"The person he loved most."
Her voice broke.
"You betrayed him."
Tina shook her head.
"You don't understand"
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
The words echoed throughout the room.
Tina stumbled backward as if struck.
"Siera...she tried to call out, walking towards her"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
The healer took a step back.
"None of you touch me."
Not Leon.
Not Dante.
Not Elvnia.
None of them.
They were monsters.
Every single one of them.
"Siera. Think carefully."
Dante raised his shield.
Leon raised his hands.
"You don't understand."
His voice was calm, almost pleading.
"He was brainwashed."
He pointed toward the book lying on the floor.
"The moment he touched that cursed thing, he changed."
Leon shook his head.
"He attacked us."
"We had no choice."
"It was the only way."
"LIAR!!!"
The atmosphere became tense.
Dangerous.
But Siera no longer cared.
Something inside her had shattered.
Something good.
Something pure.
Alexandria had always been the one who believed people could be saved.
That everyone deserved another chance.
That fate could change.
Now he was dead.
And all that remained was anger.
Her staff slammed into the cobblestone ground.
BOOM!
White light exploded across the library.
Then darkened.
Slowly.
Corrupting.
Twisting.
Turning black.
Leon took a step back.
For the first time, fear crossed his face.
"Siera...?"
Her eyes opened.
The white was gone.
Only darkness remained.
"In the name of my Goddess..."
The room grew colder.
Shadows crawled across the floor.
"I revoke your right to bear the title of Hero."
A voice answered.
Not from the room.
Not from the castle.
But from beyond.
Ancient.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
"My child."
Siera's black hair lifted as power poured into her body.
"Who calls upon me?"
Tears still streamed from her face.
But now they were black.
"I do."
She clenched her fists.
"I offer you my faith."
Her voice shook.
"I offer you my soul."
Black mist erupted around her.
"I pledge myself to you Goddess Hecate."
Silence.
Then
"Accepted."
The answer came immediately.
Dark wings unfolded behind Siera.
The castle trembled.
Power unlike anything she had ever felt surged through her veins.
And for the first time in her life...
She hated.
Truly hated.
She pointed her staff toward Leon.
"I curse you."
Dark magic gathered around its tip.
"You who stole fate from another."
Black chains wrapped around Leon's arm.
"I curse every victory you seek."
His smile vanished.
"I curse every path you walk."
The chains tightened.
"I curse every fate you draw."
The room darkened.
"May fate itself reject your existence."
Leon staggered.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
Siera turned toward Dante.
Tears still streamed down her face.
"And you."
The knight froze.
"You laughed."
Her voice trembled.
"While he begged for answers."
"While he bled."
"While he died."
Dark mana gathered around her staff.
"You who know no compassion..."
"I curse you to never receive it."
A black sigil burned itself into Dante's chest.
"When you cry for help, none shall answer."
"When you seek comfort, none shall come."
"And when death finally reaches for you..."
Her eyes glowed black.
"You shall face it alone."
Elvnia frowned. "What?"
"You Watched."
The healers voice shook with rage.
"You knew it was wrong, and you did NOTHING!!"
"I curse you to forever see those you fail."
Every person you abandon
Every innocent you fail to save
Every comrade that died, as she look down at Alexandria body,
The will haunt you forever, you will never know peace.
Then she looked toward Tina.
For a long time.
Neither spoke.
Finally
"When your life ends..."
"When your final breath leaves your body..."
"When the gods weigh your soul..."
She pointed her staff directly at Tina.
"May every path lead downward."
The room grew silent.
"Go to hell."
Tina collapsed to her knees.
Crying.
Broken.
Siera no longer cared.
She knelt beside Alexandria's body.
Carefully.
Gently.
As if he were sleeping.
Her trembling fingers pulled the poisoned dagger from his chest.
Then she removed a Return Stone from her robes.
Leon immediately stepped forward.
"WAIT!"
Too late.
The crystal shattered.
White light engulfed the room.
The last thing Siera saw was Leon reaching toward them.
Then both she and Alexandria's body vanished.
Leaving only silence behind.