Dream A Little [Aina Solo]

Location: Gran Paradiso National Park (Italty)


Realities may change, but home never changes, does it? No. Not even the power of a god would dare alter this place which was one of the safest places that The Demon Princess of old could think of. Even if that demon was dead, something remained from that reality.

To get to this point, travel wasn't easy in this world. Or rather, sometimes it was better to go by slower transport. After all, Minatumi Harbour was one of the few ports left in the world. It is better to take in the sea and the sights of the earth and take it slow. What is the point of rushing into a rarity that this city was? Many people from different walks came aboard such massive ships; seeking a better future, while others were here to seek out vices and pleasures and hide themselves away from more significant threats in the world that wanted them dead. Yet, none of it mattered as the likes of Aina kept herself in an empty chamber looking at the videos, pictures, and written words of Ulv Amber.

Yes, for many days, she had been abroad on this ship as the memories of a life which wasn't hers cried in her mind at night. Something was burning away in the woman's consciousness as she knew something was off. Someone, or something, had been erased from time and space. And that voice of her former life wept to visit Mitaumi Harbor to see something. So, Aina obliged and consumed all that she could to get a better grasp on the woman.

Ulv is a woman capable of destroying the heavens themselves. Yes, this type of woman was perhaps capable of taming and keeping a spoiled demonic princess in order. But, maybe, it was because of her unwound will that she could dare to confront such a being. To understand, know and even conceive children of such a depraved soul was quite the feat. Aina knew her prior self was one of the worst beings to ever exist in this world, but Ulv saw something beyond that. The capacity to be something more, to love and to transcend the hell she was born into and the monster she was in her previous life.

A family, love, hope, and potential for the future; those constructs were potent as far as Algos was concerned, and perhaps that is where the start of Aina's own life began. Those late nights filled with talking of sweet nothings, having someone that cared and to keep those chaotic thoughts in check was all but important to The Demonic Princess. It mattered not if her hunger was great nor if she had to slaughter entire countries worth of beings; even if she took the purity of her kin, there would be a being that would forgive her, care for her and tell her she was something more.

It was -- disgusting to Aina.

No, not Ulv. But Algos. Everything was loathsome. She was a creature worthy of complete hate. This contempt for herself at the weakness of power was a paradox. She did all that she could to attain it, to stand above it all, and to have nothing hurt her fragile, weak heart and ego. Even if she yearend the closeness of others, to be valued, to be loved, and to be vulnerable in a hostile world; all of that lifetime's worth of pain, heartache, poor upbringing, and hopelessness consumed her as the programming from the likes of the Demon Queen turned her into a complete, irredeemable, beast. With the power she yielded, she could have fought harder, done more, or perhaps ran away from it all; but she stayed,d remained a part of it, and grew into something so ugly for the world.

Thus -- such a being couldn't be allowed to exist. No. Peace could never be the thought in such a creature with all she was. So even if the love of Ulv saw so much more for her, that debt had to be paid in one form or another. And rather than wait for judgment, the princess took it into her own hands, and all that leaves is Aina.

So why, after all this time, did these memories desire Aina to come here?

...

Days passed, but eventually, she would come to Mitaumi Harbor. As the rains started to consume the lands, a woman dared to wear a pale white dress amid a hellish downpour. Albeit she was wet, the crimson umbrella kept her safe from being drenched as those plum eyes kept her eyes to the ground. These luscious orbs kept their sights on the ground below, only gazing at her feet as Aina zoned o,t; drunk on the memories of a life that wasn't hers.

Ulv. That name buzzed around in her head like an unending static. As the dull motions of daily life came through, Aina got her luggage, found a hotel, and made sure to have a base so that she could freely visit the home that both Algos and Ulv shared. All that mattered was seeing it, even if she could never go inside. The memories of children in the house, warm food served, and the sensation of love was all that Algos ever desired at that moment. To have someone care for her, despite all the foulness of her soul, was a rush, and Aina could feel her heart pound and patter as she eventually made it to the steps of such a home.

Decayed, boarded up, and otherwise abandoned, her cold hands rubbed against the golden knob of a door that could perhaps enter into another dimension. One filled with the feel of someone who cared, a universe without care and nothing but infinite love. Yet, such a thing couldn't exist. No. This was a new reality, a new life; such ashes from a world and spirit that no longer exists were nothing but the cries of ghosts.

...yet, it felt so right. Grasping this knob, Aina eye's went blank for a moment as a scarlet aura started to bleed out from her body. And in that instant, tears began flowing from her eyes as her face turned into a smile. Even in the jaws of death itself, that familiarity could not be destroyed. It was brief and temporary, but the memories of Algos felt alive, and Aina felt at ease as she knew she was home. A place where she found Aina, the potential to become something more and perhaps the start of someone that could maybe be something more than a beast.

So -- Aina had to comment. Even if she wasn't sure where she was, who she was, or what aspect of her ego and soul was in control, she spoke.

"I won't waste this life. You gave up everything to see this potential in me; I will ensure this new me honors your will. Our world is gone, our children scattered, and even my body is gone with the winds of time. Nevertheless, our love will still exist. Not even the likes of a miserable god could destroy our memories and your goal. I'm not me anymore, but I am me still. And because of that, your love lingers even in this new life. I will make sure....she lives a better life."

Falling to her knees, Aina started to embrace the door as a content smile came across her face as her tears blended with the rain. Warmth, desire, happiness, sadness, nostalgia; so many things swayed in her mind before it all came to ease and quietness. How could it not? She was no longer a demon. So it was simple to find that happy spot and a contentness that Algos never could.

"No. I won't be sad. That would be a waste. I will live. I don't know how, and I'm so lost; this whole world is unknown to me. But....you'd want me to at least try. Even if I'm a memory, I can try. That's all you'd ever want, and that's all I can do. So, even as the stars of our world fade, I'll still crave that potential you saw in me, my love."

Whimpering at the moment, even if Aina felt so alone at this moment with both herself and Algos as one, Aina knew she was her current self. The one with a clean slate, a new life, and the potential to be what Algos couldn't. Without that power and sin tainting her skin, this new world could be her chance to become something more, even if it was so weak and pathetic. She'd breathe, slowly stand and gaze into the dirtied, hollow home before her.

"...no. We aren't the same. I have to be more in this life. I see your memories, and as someone who inherits your soul, I have to....live. Not for you, but myself. What else do I have to do if this world scares me and is aimless?"

Not even bothering with the umbrella, with the slight bit of energy she did, Aina turned into plum flames as she wiped her face, sniffled, and faded into the mindless crowds of a long-lost city. A has been city, for a has-been soul. There was nothing left to do but acknowledge the wrongs of the past, heed their warnings, and -- live. Aina had no debts to a world that no longer exists. Even if she knew her prior soul's origins, it's doubtful even Ajora or Verdara would want such sorrow for her. They tried to shield her from such things. So, if even only for those hollow, she would live and promptly make her way back to the harbors of Italy to resume all that she was now.