(A/N): Hello, everyone! I hope you're having fun with the series thus far. I spent a lot of thought and energy into making this enjoyable and credible. It was difficult to judge every character's personality that was not my OC, and I believe I have done a sufficient job of conveying them thus far. But, kindly, do you leave your honest thoughts behind if you so desire? Every comment is read by me. Overall, as you might expect, this story will feature a diverse cast of individuals across multiple media as it progresses.
After all, if I'm in the mood, I'm fairly good at narrative twists, drama, romance, action, and, of course, mystery. But, please, enjoy the final chapter of Rebirth of the Warrior Queen and have a pleasant rest of the day. Also, if you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me; trust me, I can include any material into this plot and make it make sense. Aside from that, I'll see you guys later.
*Splash!*
The sound of crashing waves could be heard in the distance, while a glorious afternoon light shone brightly from the sky down to the ground below. As the body of Crusch Karsten lay flat on a mysterious beach, a soft breeze flowed across the face of an unconscious Crusch Karsten. She didn't realize she was unconscious until she felt someone poke her cheeks.
Crusch's eyelids open slightly in response to the foreground touch on her cheeks; as a result, her eyes open slowly, only to be presented to the bright sun in the afternoon sky in response to the rapid intake of light. Crusch's hands moved over her face, covering out the sun, and she began to take in her surroundings.
The sound of waves and seagulls could be heard, and the strong odor of raw fish, as well as the obvious scent of salt water, could be smelled up close and far away. The last of her senses felt the afternoon sun on her body, as well as the cold air north of her blowing her dark green hair along with the wind, and finally, she could feel the sand beneath her palms as well.
She slowly stood up and looked around, and there she was, sitting on the slightly damp sand of an unknown beach. And in front of her was a vast expanse of ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see. Crusch looked at herself and was happy to see that she was back in her old, rusty armor instead of that atrocious bunny girl dress that Beatrice forced her to wear.
Crusch, on the other hand, was taken aback when she began to hear the voice of someone she recognized all too well.
"So you finally awaken, I presume you have good rest?"
Crusch's eyes widen with amazement when she hears that voice and her head slowly turns towards it. That's when she noticed the person in front of her. Someone she knew all too well, if not better than anyone else, or did she?
Yes, there was a beautiful yet masculine woman in front of her, with almond-shaped amber eyes and long, dark, verdant-green hair that stretched all the way down to her lower back. And, despite the fact that she is a woman, she was dressed as a man.
She smiled as she looked down at Crusch, and the instant Crusch's crimson eyes met her dominant amber gaze. She recognized this individual the moment she saw her.
"Crusch... Karsten... the original matriarch of House Karsten and a former candidate to become the 42nd King of Lugunica."
Crusch replied to Crusch, who began to chuckle to herself as she straightened her hair, which was blowing in the breeze. And said to her red-eyed counterpart.
"Heheheh... It's strange seeing as that's me saying it, but you're correct, I'm Crusch Karsten from ten thousand years ago. A Crusch Karsten who died in combat, bringing neither glory nor dignity to the family of Karsten; I didn't even get the chance to leave behind an heir to take up the mantle... a failure of a duchess who thought she could make a difference. And a dreadful friend who couldn't honor her word of terminating the covenant with the divine dragon and restoring the lion king's order that once ruled all of Lugnica, so yes, I am Crusch Karsten."
"The very person you seek, so tell me, with that introduction, are you still eager to reclaim what was lost?" Do you not wish to forget about these memories and carry on with your life, Crusch Karsten of Altchare?"
Crusch Karsten of Lugnica said to the current Crusch Karsten, who gave her a serious look, that this version of her wasted no time and jumped immediately into the fire as if eager to be burned to nothing. Crusch, on the other hand, would not allow herself to achieve what she desired in this manner. As a result, she strengthened her resolve and grabbed Crusch Karsten of Lugnica by the shoulders and said to her:
"I don't know what you've been through, but the Crusch Karsten I know, based on the small tales Pleiades has told me as well as the memories I currently have, has been through a lot but still prevailed and moved forward." As such, I have come to believe that the Crusch Karsten I know is not a weak person, as far as I can tell. So please assist me, assist me in becoming you, so I can walk proudly in this new world with no regrets."
Crusch Karsten of Altchare begged her former self, shrouded in mystery, but Crusch Karsten of Lugnica responded as such.
"But what if these memories only cause you more pain and sorrow?" Will you still want them?" Crusch Karsten of Altchare, I'll tell you right now: the past is better left forgotten; these recollections are dreadful; Crusch is gone; therefore, I think it's only fair that her memories die along with the concept of her. And even if you do recover them, what use do these long-forgotten memories have if no one you previously knew is no longer alive?"
Crusch Karsten of Lugnica murmured with a mournful face, but she was caught aback by the next string of words that emerged from her future counterpart's mouth.
"You have no right to say that, do you?" Not when he was alive, not when Pleiades, NOOO! Natsuki-san was alive longer than me and you; that man in my recollections was so frail, so timid, so full of spirit, and so adored by people around him that it was heartbreaking to witness what he had become. Natsuki Subaru, driven by loneliness and wisdom beyond the heavens, lost his sense of identity and became the being known as Pleiades. He was alone for ten thousand years, and if you ask me, death would have been merciful to him or anyone in that regard, and yet death does not take him. So, even if I'm alone and sad about it, I have no right to cry if he doesn't cry. Our sorrows pale in comparison to his isolation, which woven the fabric of my present."
"Moreover, even if we bury the memories of the past, Natsuki will be the only one to remember; he will never forget, or so I hope." My point is that we must stop hiding the reality from ourselves. I need you, Crusch Karsten, Pleiades needs you, and everyone else we will meet in our new life will need you. I can't do it all on my own, so please, please come back to me, Crusch Karsten."
Crusch Karsten of Altchare said as she bowed pleadingly to Crusch Karsten of Lugnica. Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, on the other hand, sighed to herself as she spoke aloud, turning around, both arms behind her back, as she watched into the distance, looking at nothing but a boundless sea, which to her was a total mystery as she was completely unaware of where it might lead.
"*Sigh!* I couldn't stop you in the end, haha." I should have known better; in the end, regardless of the era, I could never change, and I always prided myself on my unbreakable determination to never give up. But tell me future me, what are your goals, what are your ambitions? What do you want out of this fresh life, this second chance that should never have happened in the first place?"
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"Why are you silent? Don't tell me you just want to live for the sake of living; if that's the case you disgust me, our fallen comrades would kill to get what you're getting." At the very least, strive to do something amazing if not for yourself, then for them."
After all, there is no reason if there is no objective to continue going forward, replied Crusch Karsten of Lugnica to the Crusch Karsten of Altchare.
As a result, the future counterpart responded as follows.
"I'll be honest with you, I owe you that much, I don't have a goal, well technically I do, but it's not mine, it's Pleiades'." I've been trying to reach you for as long as I can remember, and when the opportunity arose, I seized it without hesitation. And now that I've reached you, my mission is accomplished. But I can promise you that whatever objective I had in the past, I will exceed it plus more; If you want an heir, I will give you an heir; if you want to be a king, I will be the greatest of kings; you want to slay a dragon, I will slay an entire nest. As for my own ambitions, I'm not sure, but I'd like to find that answer for myself as I go along in this new embers of life. So I'll ask you one more time, Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, please come back to me and let us become the we that we've always been and will always be."
At that point, silence filled the air, with neither of them saying anything else. Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, on the other hand, was the one to speak once more, as she went on her knees, her eyes fixed on the lovely ocean, as she was taking it all in as she said to her future counterpart.
"That...will...do...for...the...time being." But future me, be warned: if there is one thing I have learned and experienced for myself time and time again, it is that everything I love always slips through my hands in the most unexpected of ways because I refuse to make the difficult decisions. Dont be me, be better than me, be the best version of yourself. Live as you please, this past of mine I will keep, but that future of yours, let us see what lies ahead of that uncertainty, and one day I hope you can find a goal you yourself desire, as such take the Lion Rampant to cut my head clean off, and put this lioness to rest once and for all, slay the gap between me and you, and only then will Crusch Karsten truly be reborn, in death given life."
Crusch Karsten of Lugnica declares firmly, and her counterpart can only nod in agreement as she unsheathes her blade. And walk to her past, gazing behind her, Crusch Karsten of the past didn't dare to look behind, and kept her gaze fixed ahead. However, she noticed three familiar sillouthes in the distance: Ferris, Wilhem, and Fourier. As the light of the sun illuminates their being in that moment, all three of them look on at her, smiling.
Ferris was the only one who had a nasty stare behind his eyes, but he smiled anyway, even though it was clearly forced.
Crusch Karsten of Altchare, on the other hand, bared her blade upwards as she prepared to strike down on Crusch Karsten of Lugnica, but not before saying one more thing to her past.
"Do... Do you have any last words to say to your past, because the moment this blade strikes true it will be only the future and the uncertainty behind it that will remain."
Crusch Karsten of Lugnica gazed into the distance once more, absorbing the sight of her old comrades. As if she's trying to erase the memory of their faces, yet what Crusch stated at the time was not what Crusch of today expected.
"What do you expect me to say: I'm sorry, I regret it, I shouldn't be alive, or I'll see you all one day but not today?" You, I, and even Pleiades is aware of it. We can't die, we're immortal; there's no see you later; this isn't even a farewell or a send-off; it's just a reminder. A reminder that I will never again lose sight of what is vital to me. A reminder that I will never forget: the past is a scourge to me. So I will not fill them with hope of a reunion; their memories and sacrifice will live on through me; I will tell their stories and sing about their lives to anyone who would listen. My men, my friends, my soldiers, they deserve better. As a result, Crusch Karsten is no longer... the duchess who once dreamed of becoming the Lionheart is a story that will be remembered as the tale of Crusch Karsten and Crusch Karsten alone, as that is which my men fight for. And yet, in the end, it was nothing more than a pipe dream. But no more, because with pride, I will stand, fight, and kill anyone who steals my place. I will no longer carry only my dreams, but the dreams of those who could not awaken from their endless sleep. I will live for them, for me, for you, and, if possible, for him. Although my concern for Natsuki is most likely unfounded, to begin with. But I'll walk this rocky road alongside him nevertheless, and who knows, maybe I will finally have a chance to say something to him, that I could say to him back then. It started with admiration, but as I got closer to him, even in my final days, I never got to speak the three words I most wanted to say to him. Because I knew it was pointless to say it, considering that he had been afflicted by the half-elf, Lady Emilia... hehehe... in the end, I have nothing to say that would be meaningful or iconic; to be honest, I am not even worth remembering... just do it."
Crusch, the former matriarch of the Karsten family, struck true for the first time in ten thousand years at that moment, from Crusch of the future to Crusch of the past. Her blade contained an unfathomable amount of love and regret, yet it was the most powerful strike she had ever performed in both the past and the future. The minute the razor edge dug through Crusch Karsten of Lugnica's neck, a great golden light shone so brightly that it encompassed the entire mental universe they occupied, shattering everything in the process.
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Crusch sat on the Nexus branch, her eyes opening to a familiar darkness, and at this point, she was already accustomed to the transmission at this time and place. But, unlike the mental worlds, Crusch had returned to the physical world. Her gaze was drawn upward to a gorgeous purple tree, whose limbs stretched out in every direction, bearing new fruits every second. When she felt liquid dripping from her cheeks to the surfaces of her rusted armor, she peered down. There were bloody tears on her legs. She remained silent for a minute as she took a deep breath in and out and whispered to herself.
"I'm back... I am truly back."
Despite her whispering this under her breaths, the administrator of this place full of inconceivable darkness took note, as a familiar voice could be heard, one Crusch hadn't heard in a long time.
"That you are Ms. Karsten, welcome back to the world of the living, trust me I can relate to your situation, dying once is not a pleasant feeling, but you, like me, have escaped death on your own terms." "Well done."
A voice murmured something in a dull and uninteresting tone, and the moment Crusch heard it, her head turned towards the source. And there he was, in his true form, which is nothing more than pure blackness with no features and only a swirling pair of dull amethyst voids for eyes.
The creature creation of pure abstract darkness sat in what Crusch described as a chemist's lab. He possessed beacons, pots, beakers, glassware, fumes, hoods, a muffle furnace, a centrifuge, an aggregate mill, and ovens. A giant book was to his side, which a tentacle tendril was controlling while writing something within. Pleiades, on the other hand, was cooking up something in his lab, considering that he was mixing a number of potions together. Not even fully acknowledging that Crusch had awoken from her deep slumber, which had lasted eight hours in real-time.
Crusch's eyes widened, as she said aloud.
"Natsuki...san?!"
"Please call me Pleiades, I abandoned that name a long time ago, either way thought so how do you feel?"