A Sinner’s Chance

I flew towards the ducal estate, doing what I could to save the citizens as I passed by. While many were at first scared of my abnormal appearance, they came around when I helped put out fires or restrain the attackers. It seemed that they were called the Radiant Dawn, and were essentially a cult of fanatical purifiers, as they called themselves. That was all I could get out of them, and mostly only because that was something that could be easily found out. They were surprisingly stubborn, and while I was sure I could get them to talk if I was given time, I didn't want to bother since what I needed the most right now was equipment.

While I rushed as fast as I could towards the estate, I also tried to avoid being out in the open too much, it wouldn't be useful if Gabriel caught up to me before I could properly arm myself. I made sure to update Steria with my location so she could relay it to the others, something I could only be thankful I had thought to do as a sudden pain ripped through my body. It was like I was having a heart attack as my flaming wings went out and I crashed to the ground. Each breath and beat of my heart was like a knife stabbing into me before being twisted and jerked out.

Not wanting to leave myself exposed, I forced myself to stand and stagger into a nearby alleyway, informing Steria that something was happening to me as I fell over writhing in pain. I was unable to understand Steria's response as more pain suddenly assaulted me, the carapace on my limbs breaking apart and flaking off as a thicker and more jagged carapace grew in its place. I could only clench my teeth before the feeling of pain slowly began to fade, being replaced with the familiar sensation of pleasure.

My body went through several other changes, each spanning only a few minutes before the changes finally ceased. I was left laying in a pile of blood, flesh, chitin, and bone, my body quivering from the overwhelming amount of pleasure that had been coursing through me. Staggering to my feet, I felt similar to how I had been before being drained by Gabriel and Alcrem's strange spike. However, I felt more complete and homogenous than before. If I was a jug of separated cream and milk before, I was now the kind of milk one would buy from the markets in Velen's world, a mix of different things to create a single whole.

While I wanted to take the time to look over my Status to see what had changed, I wasn't really in a position to do so. Growing my wings and carapace once more, I took flight, shooting out of the alley and towards the estate once again. Even with just my carapace there were a few differences. While I had always known that my carapace itself was extremely protective, my joints had always been a point of worry, however it seemed that beneath the chitin, there was some kind of scaled skin, like that of a snake, which seemed to impart some kind of absorption effect. I wouldn't be able to really tell what it did until I was in a fight, or had the leisure to carefully look over my Status, but for now I could only wonder.

As I finally made it to the entrance of the estate, I was a woman with scarlet hair, dressed in tight leather, guiding people into the estate, likely for safety. Landing nearby I rushed over with a grin on my face. Marian saw me and froze for a second, confusing the citizens near her until they saw me. There was a brief moment of fear until I undid my carapace and wings and embraced Marian. I didn't even know how long I had been in the cavern, but seeing a friendly face took some weight off my shoulders that I wasn't aware I'd been carrying.

"I missed you." I whispered in her ear just as we broke our embrace. Marian's face was somewhat flushed as she looked at me.

"I missed you too. But what about Alcrem and Gabriel? Arya said that they were chasing you." Her expression fell slightly as she mentioned Gabriel. It was probably hard to accept that one of your children was actually an Archangel hell bent on killing your adopted child and lover.

"I'm not sure exactly where they are, but I'm going to need my equipment as I need to confront them."

Marian was silent for a moment. "I'm coming with you. Don't try to tell me otherwise, I know where your equipment is and it would be a shame to waste time searching the house for it."

I was surprised by her conviction and as much as I didn't want her to have to face off against Gabriel, having someone else would be helpful. It was clear to me that she wasn't the same noblewoman she'd been before, but I wasn't sure about her combat capabilities, however, I had no choice but to agree to her demand if I wanted my gear in a timely fashion. So after some hesitation I nodded. "Fine, but if it looks too dangerous you need to run, I can survive death."

Marian nodded in agreement before reaching into a satchel bag she was wearing, producing a silver circlet. "Alcrem will probably be furious when he sees this, it supposedly an important heirloom, but it also allows access to a space-time cache. It isn't particularly large, but it was enough to fit your gear and have some room left over."

I took the circlet from her hand and placed it atop my head where it promptly resized to fit. Just as I was about to ask Marian how to access the cache, the circlet heated up for just a moment and Marian looked intrigued. I could tell that besides it resizing, another physical change had happened and when I pulled it off to look, it was no longer the silver circlet it had been before. Now it was black, with golden highlights and a deep violet amethyst at the center.

I stared in amazement before placing it back on my head. It was strange that just a moment before I had no idea how to use it, yet suddenly I instinctively knew what to do. Reaching my hand out I pulled out my equipment one piece at a time, making small adjustments to make allowance for my wings.

Without warning I gripped Marian by her waist and pulled her close as my wings flapped and we shot off into the air. She was tense for only a moment, her arms wrapping around me tightly, before she relaxed and got used to the sensation. I wasn't actually sure how I flew, as there was no way my wings were actually large enough to lift a person off the ground, and I was pretty sure that with their position my center of balance should have been different. However, despite the fact that I could only reason it as some kind of Phoenix magic, I found flying through the air exhilarating, especially as I held Marian close, and despite the imminent danger I was seeking out, I couldn't help but think of some fun new things to try out when we finished.

Sadly such would have to wait, as just as we passed near the city center, I saw another figure flying in the sky, white feathery wings flapping as golden blonde hair fluttered about. The showdown between us was about to begin, as I was certain that she had also noticed me. I couldn't see Alcrem anywhere, but I didn't doubt that he would be lurking nearby, or at the very least on his way here.