Chapter 1: Kalliste Vespera

As she laid helplessly on her deathbed, Kalliste heard the howls of her two beloved pets from outside her door. Their cries created a musical sound in her ears, at the same time, it also blew a hole in her heart with a freezing altitude. It seemed that they felt their master’s life fading away.

Kalliste sighed gently.

She knew that this would be where they parted ways. Thinking back, it had been exactly a year when she was diagnosed with ‘Phthisis Cutis.’ An incurable, and disgusting skin disease that slowly ate her body away. Not even the bones were spared by this terrible illness.

The doctors said that she was cursed, but the faith healer theorised that she was now reaping the terrible karma for all her unpardonable sins. Kalliste believed the latter’s words. If this was her destiny, so be it. She was already exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to leave this shell of a body.

With all the strength that she had left, Kalliste slowly scanned her surroundings.

The dim lights in her almost empty room gave her eyes a comfortable feeling.

“Would I finally die this time around?”

A bittersweet smile etched on her face. She could not even lift her hands, let alone, a finger. She could only move her head from side to side, though slowly.

As the cold breeze entered her room from the open windows, the sweet scent of lillies and roses bombarded her nose. From where she laid, Kalliste watched how the magnificent rays of the sun slowly hid behind the darkness of the night. The scintillating moon now hung over the horizon, making the emerald forest seemed like a gateway towards a fantastical world.

“Had I chosen another path, would I have been happy?” Kalliste’s long lashes flattered as she slowly closed her eyes. Her mind wondered towards a distant past.

Kalliste was an orphan, however, she was not sad about it. She had a lot of brothers and sisters in the orphanage. Their mother figure was a kind, and gentle woman who loved them all dearly. Whenever she asked about her parents, the woman would only answer with the same sentence.

“I am sorry, dear. We have no idea. I found you beneath an old tree with nothing, but a thick book. Not even a letter was left behind.”

After that, Kalliste stopped asking, and focused on her life. Growing up, she was like a moon surrounded by billions of stars. Like a supreme goddess lost in the mortal realm. No matter how beautiful the other girls might be, they always seemed to be missing something in comparison. If the other girls were beautiful fairies, then Kalliste would be a goddess basking in the moonlight. She was even called the pinnacle of existence. Gifted to all kinds of arts, to the point that it was terrifying. She hated attention, though, and would rather lock herself up in her room. Growing up, she only had one wish. A normal life, away from the prying eyes of the people. Find a good man, have a family of her own, growing old with her loved ones, and finally dying with a contented smile on her face. But those were just an impossible dream. As soon as she turned fifteen, powerful cyborg machines invaded Earth. That was how the first war broke out.

Her world was turned upside down from that moment on. The sudden Invasion costed the lives of almost four billion people. The remaining humans had no choice, but to fight. She was one of those survivors. The massive trauma and her strong will to live caused something inside of her to awoken the dormant powers that she unknowingly possessed.

As she walked the path of a legend, she became the last hope, and light of humanity. However, no one knew the unbearable sorrow and grief that she bore.

Being a warrior robbed her of everything that she truly wanted. She did not even have time to shed tears for her fallen comrades as she was always on the battlefield.

When she got rid of the Cyborg King, Kalliste thought that the world would finally have some peace.

However, as soon as she got back, she was immediately deemed a terrifying monster to be kept alive. After everything that she did for them, everyone turned their back on her. The shock that she had that day was so great that she almost went crazy.

When she got to her senses, Kalliste realised that she had to survive. Thus, after completely destroying the organisation, she fled for her freedom. Soon enough, she was hunted down in the form of the highest treason.

After over a century of constant war, Kalliste finally learned valuable lessons. A true warrior learned to live with a pain and guilt that never healed. Accept hatred and anger like sweet honey, and embraced anguish as a part of her life.

For a war veteran like her, fighting endless wars, and killing billions like insects. It became an everyday occurrence for her. Yet she still struggled for her goals. To see another sunrise, to fight another day. For over over a century, she strived for dominance, for knowledge, and supremacy. Kalliste knew that her fate was sealed, but definitely, not her dreams.

Her thirst for a peaceful life that she would never achieve as long as she walked the path of the Legendary Kortik. A monstrous, and bloodthirsty beast of the battlefield.

Beauty, prestige, honor, skills, intelligence and power, in the end, nothing really mattered when one was already on the brink of death.

The loud sounds of lightning and thunder brought Kalliste back to reality. However, she was too tired to keep her eyes open. As her vision slowly faded to nothingness, the last thing she saw was the dusty book that was sitting on her table. Her only source of joy on this tiresome life.

She smiled as she tried to reach for it. However, her eyes slowly closed as her breath became heavy.

For the last time, Kalliste drew a long, and deep breath as she finally entered her eternal slumber with a smile on her face.

...----------------...

Kalliste did not know how long she was asleep, but she regained her consciousness because of the muffled voices around her. Slowly opening her eyes, she was met with a blur vision. Everything was dark, and the loud sounds immediately assaulted her ears. She cringed. She wanted to say something, but her throat was parched. Not even saliva could pass through as it was painful with every swallow. Her body was stiff. It felt like all muscles decided to rebel against her will.

‘Water.’

Minutes passed by, the voices became clearer now. She could also define some objects as well as the colors of her surroundings.

Though her memory was still vague and clouded, one thing was for sure. She died.

‘Am I already in hell? I guess I am. Not only my whole body, but even my soul, was tainted with so much blood. For over a century, I could not even imagine the number of people that I killed with my own hands. A terrible sin that I could never repay even with my death.’

Kalliste sighed.

‘If this was indeed hell, then I would welcome any harsh punishments that they would bestow upon me. Maybe then would my guilt be subsided for all those innocent souls.’

She waited for a while, but was jolted in surprise when her body was suddenly submerged in water. Of course she struggled. Who wouldn’t. But then again, maybe her punishment already began? She could barely see anything in the dark, but who cared? However, something was wrong. As she sank to the bottom, it got harder and harder to breathe.

‘Was this normal? I was already dead, so I should not feel this way? Or was I?’

Kalliste tried to get back to the surface, but her foot got stuck with something thick and slimy.

‘Algae! Why now?’

As she struggled, the cold water slowly found its way in her mouth. She lost control. With that split second, her lungs and stomach was already overwhelmed with so much liquid. It was now hard to breath. Not to mention the strong currents that slammed on her body with mighty forces. Due to severe fatigue, her consciousness slowly faded to nothingness for the second time around.

...----------------...

Kalliste woke up with a loud, and long inhale. Her heart thumped like mad as she crazily gasped for some air. Though her throat was dry and hurt like a bitch with every breath, she managed to calm herself down. The first thing she saw was the luminous moon that illuminated the clear, blue water with a pearly glow.

“What in the world! Why am I in a cave?” Kalliste quickly scanned her surrounding. The ground was full of dead twigs, carcasses of animals, and insects that crawled everywhere. The ceiling was also full of stalagmites and stalactites that looked like giant bones and fangs which made the place creepier. It was infested with huge bats. They slept within their folded, velvety black wings. She narrowed her eyes. It was her first time seeing a chiropteran the size of an adult’s’ arm.

When a strong, and cold breeze suddenly shrieked through the large mouth of the cave, Kalliste immediately covered her mouth and nose. The smell of decay and animal feces almost turned her stomach upside down. It made her nauseous. She also saw how the bats wings slightly fluttered, as though they were awoken by the wind.

“Shoot! I have to get out of here before I became their snack.”

With that in mind, Kalliste tried to stand, only to fall on her knees. That was when she finally noticed a change on her body.

“Why are my hands this small?”

Kalliste immediately inspect her whole body. It took her a while to realise something.

“No way! It can’t be!”

Ignoring her faltering legs, she quickly looked down on the water. What she saw almost knocked her unconscious. Instead of an old woman with white hair, wrinkled skin, and exposed bones, she saw a child with an alluring charm, even beyond words instead. With a long, silky golden hair that glimmered by the moon’s radiance. It played gently with the wind as though it had its own sentience.

“Who was this child? Am I hallucinating now?” Kalliste frowned and immediately reached the water to dispel it, but the child in the water only mimicked her.

“Hey! Stop copying me!”

Her shout echoed within the cave. For the next few minutes, she was like a madman as she tried everything to dispel the trick.

“I give up. I can’t do this anymore!”

Kalliste stared at the reflection. Even though it was only a child, all would be gobsmocked with lustful, and flaring eyes with only one glance. Even the word “supreme beauty” was not enough to describe her. The child possessed an exquisitely peerless beauty that reached far beyond an unbelievable level. An impeccable masterpiece under the heavens. Long, velvety black lashes that fluttered like butterfly wings with every move. Lips that would shame the color of blood, and a flawless complexion that looked even more divine under the glimmer of the moon. A well-proportioned eyes that complimented her heart-shaped face. A countenance that would surely be coveted by all, even by the Celestials.

Somehow, the child looked familiar. It reminded Kalliste of herself when she was only a child. However, over a hundred years had passed since she last saw her appearance. As soon as the war broke out, she had no time to look at the mirror.

After a careful observation, reality hit her like a ton of bricks.

“What the hell? How was something like this possible!”

She was looking at her own reflection when she was just a child!

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