The Maid and Her Princess

II.

Madoka was lost in a tornado of colors; moments had the ground become the sky, twisting her view upside down, then; hurled into that cold and alien darkness she hated so much. There was no doubt about her situation, no amount of complaining could make her return back to Gladeban; she was back in that strange realm again. So she found herself groaning in the belly of the Uracksheegal.

"Again," she sighed. "We always fall through those little portals…"

Madoka noticed that the spot beside her was vacant. Audrey should have face planted somewhere around here, right? She realized that the princess was not in the Shadow Forest with her. This place seemed lighter than the last time she had been here, like an oppressive presence has left its grounds. It was not empty; Madoka realized that the Forest was lit up by grey light filtering up from beneath her. Daylight…? Even in the distance above the black tree lines created by the corruption aboard this strange beast, she could see the glint of enormous sections of windows bordering the entire stomach. Unease welled up inside of her, but she knew she had to press onward.

Madoka scrunched her nose, sat up and shook off the dust that coated her when she crashed. Then she sneezed involuntarily, a small squeak surprising her. She covered her face immediately, more out of embarrassment than caution from alarming anything hostile in this place, then; she dared to look around herself further for anything that looked familiar beyond the dark twisted vines that twisted out of the land and burrowed a destructive path. The corruption from whatever kind god did not accept the grey morning light and lay still. Madoka hated them all the same for creating such messy and unruly things; whether their origin pointed to the Witch's own voices or whatever thing the Red Strings were attached to— she wanted nothing to do with them.

This will end here, Madoka felt her chest instinctively to vow, feeling the Golden Hand tugging at her. There was a stir in her heart, but nothing else. No golden dust trail to lead her this time. As soon as she took a step, however, her foot bumped into something. She yelped out of surprise, jumping back from the offending object when it did not budge. Magnolia stared up at her, beckoning her hands to wield it. So she did. The grey, unassuming axe seemed like a wonderful tool to ward off the alien feeling and she was glad she had it. The last time she was here she came with nothing. Now, Madoka had a purpose: Retrieve Audrey, wherever she is, inside the Uracksheegal and then they will take down the Witch for good. And maybe give that evil creature a piece of her mind with Magnolia for good measure.

The light's presence still made her feel small. Its insidious presence revealed the sheer scaled of this whole place. Madoka thought it would be blood red and ominously dark like the state of Gladeban when they left it, but no, it was quite tame as if the day itself was waking. Could it be so simple? She had already assumed it was grey because it was now morning and the vines did not seem to be grasping out for her throat yet. Her steps made her feel small, and a quick glance upward revealed the same unblinking beacons shining their tiny lights like stars high above. Another layer of the Uracksheegal must be up there, she thought. Before she could feel even the slightest bit of relief, the thunderous heartbeat thumped throughout the entire forest. She did not hear any thoughts in the distance, just an earth-shaking beating.

Madoka ducked instinctively— she had forgotten all about that ominous beating shaking all of the insides of this entire beast's belly.

She huddled in a small dip in the ground as the thorny roots shook while the horrid heartbeat reigned over with its song. Then the silence made her shudder. Something stirred in her heart. Madoka did not know if it was the comfort brought on by Audrey's Golden Hand or some other magic pulling her along, but she abruptly stood up and gripped Magnolia tightly, then brought it closer to her chest to challenge the questions brewing inside her mind. What was she afraid of? She had just destroyed a Wyvern not long ago and sliced the Guardian in two. Now, she stood before a wall of black roots, glancing at all of the corpses embedded in grotesque angles within their greedy bark. Did the citizens of Gladeban get kidnapped and already processed? That thought made her shudder with both anger and nervousness.

"I will not be stopped by you or your corruption, Witch," Madoka muttered, raising her axe and her voice. "I will not be a pawn, my mind is my own and not a place to listen to your lies!"

The axe gleamed from grey to gold, to a brilliant white so hot it shot thin beams of light that pierced holes inside the thorns' flesh. That was an Aura she had never seen before. Madoka brought Magnolia down and just like the Crimson Guardian, the black roots shattered like glass. She could only pray that by destroying these disgusting abominations she could release the souls of those encased inside them. Madoka chose to smash a bit more of the corruption, just to test if Magnolia could keep going. Her capable hands proved that she could keep destroying the roots and her axe was perfectly unscathed, hungry for more. Looking at the newly opened path before her— she felt her feet slow for a brief moment. She was beginning to feel freedaunted again.

If she recalled, there was supposed to be a massive structure built by the humans that used to live here. Perhaps that space station did collide with the Uracksheegal like Audrey said— but she simply did not care at all. The massive spire was nowhere to be seen even with the morning light fighting for dominance in the Shadow Forest. Nor did she see the statue where she restored the Link with all those pipes. The sheer size of this place made her nervous. She needed to find Her Highness as fast as possible, but knowing that everything she remembered about this place was nowhere to be seen did not fill her with confidence.

As she pondered over her predicament, a faint white pillar light now forming above a peculiar statue in the distance somewhere beyond a few stacks of cubes. More unwanted things that she was beginning to remember, Madoka grumbled. Those boxes were what she used to change this place. The humming and familiar whispers came to her ears, so she began her assault on anything that looked like a black root on her way to the source. Not even the heartbeat's monstrous rhythm resounding above her could change her mind!

As she smashed her way through vines, she realized something was off. It did not stop her swinging, but it seemed to her that she was doing a lot more of it; A root smashed here and there split into many reaching at her every two swings— she merely kept up the pace and charged on. It was not until a root grew right in front of the maid that she realized the darkness was beginning to reach for her; grasp at her ankles. Nonsense, she and Magnolia were going to get to that humming noise and shut it off! Although this shifting maze had walls that moved randomly, she could bust them all down! Audrey's Golden Hand was still inside her chest and although she was not sure where Her Highness was— it was still resonating and drawing the thin Knotting Strands scattered in this place to her Core.

There! Madoka caught a glimpse of that glowing and noisy statue standing forlornly over a pool of light between a twisted gap of gnarled limbs. Its incessant calling turned into a roar and even the destruction of the roots did not drown it out. More of them burst from the ground like desperate charred arms, reaching her foot. Madoka slammed Magnolia down, severing one that managed to wrap around her ankle in a desperate attempt to escape the encroaching corruption. She jumped, her flailing arms reaching out with her meager Knotting strands, faintly feeling the warmth of connection emanating from the Statue. The soft whispers coalesced into one living voice as clear as the path she smashed to get here.

「Holy One. The Chorus sings within thee. Authenticity accepted. Holy One… We see thee clearer now. Cleansing of the Heart's corruption is now at 66.6667%… May the Holy One seeketh Us. Establish the Link. One final Authorization Check is required for the final cleansing of the Heart. 」

Then, darkness wrapped around her head.

Madoka's head felt like it was splitting into two halves. One half, arguably the smaller one remembered the pain fast shattering her body the moment she laid her shaking hands upon the warm… what exactly did she leap to? The maid's head hurt. A dizzy spell placed itself firmly on the other, larger half. The part of her mind still conscious enough to feel like she was no longer able to remember what she was even doing.

"A-Are you certain…?" A voice suddenly broke through the broken fragments of her head.

Oh, Madoka's head instantly felt clarity brush aside the painful stinging inside of it. She was dreaming. But that voice… It was clearly Audrey's!

"You are Godtouched, that is certain," another strangely familiar voice informed Audrey with a hint of smugness in her tone. She also realized that the person was not addressing her in Reverent Noble. She had the kind of satisfaction that Madoka would use whenever she finally proved Her Highness wrong. It was a celebration— rare and satisfying. "Does the great Noble Lady of House Dalion not understand something that I do? I've come to one conclusion that you Nobles don't understand. Love. You only love yourselves, not others. How could you not cherish—"

"I see, that news is… Well," Audrey trailed off. Madoka knew that she was entirely in her own world, unaware of the taunts the familiar voice was giving her. This was the conversation Her Highness had with Rin before she arrived. The princess turned in a hurry right as Madoka floated at the tent's entrance, but she realized Audrey was looking straight at her. She noticed the tent's flap opened and she suddenly saw a dream copy of herself, standing before Audrey holding a crossbow looking rather annoyed. But she knew that Audrey was looking directly at her, not the one in her dreams. "M-Madoka?"

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The moment the two locked eyes Madoka felt her stomach lurch, dragging her along like a nauseating hand far away from that vision. She was not sure if she was alive, awake, or even in her own body anymore. She felt sharp stabbings driving their way into her skin as she was hurled in the air, but her eyes could not adjust to the sensation of falling and ascending rapidly at the same time. Her body was breaking through what felt like wood or glass, but through the blows something inside her chest reached out on its own in a futile attempt to stop the pain from raking her. That sensation…! She regained control of her arms upon recognizing it. That was Her Highness's Hand, still inside her chest. There was hardly any time to worry about how it was even still within her, but since it wanted out, she was not about to stop the princess's orders.

The Golden Hand illuminated the darkness she did not even know she fell into, revealing exactly what she was crashing through. Thorns, roots, and something giving off a black light in the distance. Right, Madoka groaned. She remembered where she was before the dream. She was falling deeper inside the Uracksheegal's stomach after being chased by the dark roots that swallowed Fiara. The vines obscured everything around her, but with a desperate and lucky grab she managed to stop her fall into that ominous pit. She swallowed back a gag as the abrupt suspension struck her stomach, but luckily it was the God touched hand that saved her, once again.

Now, just what exactly was she supposed to do? Seeing endless darkness beneath her dangling feet surrounding what seemed like a massive spiraling tangle of those roots made her uneasy. She glanced at the light emanating from her chest. To her horror, a metal rod was jutting out of her as if she was impaled by it, piercing one of the larger roots. The blackened and hardened limb that Audrey's hand was silently gripping was attached to a corpse embedded inside of it, like usual, but she could see the vague features of a face frozen in terror. The root seemed to be growing into a massive structure to the side; it was like a dark giant on the other end, even stretching skyward from the bottom of the chasm's pool of pale light.

Apprehension filled Madoka, making her feel like she was going to be one of the many dead bodies in the roots if she did not act fast. Should she try to scale across the roots and climb up the larger network to its top? That is, she felt hopeless after glancing up at the dark shape eclipsing her. If there is a top to the giant tree at all.

"Audrey…" She prayed to the kind gods that she was safe, even if she only had one hand at the moment. Then, as if alerted to her words, snapping noises began to crack through the pierced root she was holding onto. The lurching began to twist her stomach once more as all the support holding her up was ripped away. Audrey's hand shot straight back into her. Madoka dug a hand at her chest, but the Crystal was inactive. "Come out, you wretched thing!"

It did not, so Madoka continued spiraling through more broken roots and cutting wind down towards the bottom of the pit. The pale, black light came quicker than she could process; then, complete darkness enveloped her and the sensation of falling stopped. Her body felt light, but still out of her control. She could not walk; she felt like she was floating. Just end me, already! Her thoughts soared with all the desperation one could growl while flailing in the air, despite the throbbing exploding throughout her body. She did not scream Audrey's name as she floated in the endless void— she learned her lesson the last time.

The heartbeat of the Uracksheegal thumped in the distance, but it was not as loud as before. So, Madoka determined she was still inside this strange beast and based on the faint vibration warming her chest beneath her skin, Audrey had to be around too. Alive. The only thing in this void other than her suspended self were broken fragments of roots dropping on her head like fallen tears from above, but only the dim glow of that ominous light distorted anything that might appear on the other side of it. She was about to attempt to move again, when the force keeping her suspended released her. Instead of falling into another terrible storm, her feet found solid ground. No more roots surrounded her and that oppressive feeling lifted. Instead, a heartbreaking and haunting siren noise sang through the air and when she opened her eyes again she knew she was no longer inside of the Uracksheegal.

This void… Madoka realized she had been here many times before in her dreams. The light above her was gone but was replaced by a vast heaven holding countless glittering stars and worlds beyond her wildest imagination. A massive deep blue world floated over her, but if she looked below, more striped worlds and stars danced along a soft glowing stream of hazy light. The Witch's voices called her from this place– and many more alien things existed. Was this the true sky? Madoka glanced around at the universe around her, feeling hopelessly small, but the flowing hazy light seemed to be headed in a certain direction behind her. Then she heard a voice speak from somewhere ahead of her. She did not notice it at first, but one of the stars had already closed in on her! She did not have time to prepare to attack, so she simply glared at the shining sphere above her.

"Do you think you can reach Her?" It asked.

"Where am I?" Madoka growled, raising her hands in a guard.

Madoka had not used her fists and feet in a long time, but she had enough strength, frustration and anger inside of her to break anyone who would annoy her, and; this thing proved to be just the irksome individual she would love to make a mess out of and then clean up afterwards. It asked her a stupid question. She would punch a star like this thing for Her Highness, regardless if she could reach her or not. When the sphere's light faded away, she automatically knew what she was looking at. The creature's head we had an odd face that looked almost human, except with a beak protruding out from where its mouth and nose would be. The rest of its body was covered in a glowing white fabric, but she knew it was probably horribly twisted and ugly beneath its robes just like a human.

"You're… You're that bird messenger from the kind God of Tomorrows, aren't you?" She crossed her arms. Shifting and warping vocalizations chirped from beneath the robes, but its beak did not move as it stood. Madoka inspected its eyes since she did not hear any thoughts coming from it and found nothing. It seemed to be thinking of how to answer her.

"Yesterday I was a cube, today, I am a flower, and tomorrow I will be a winged Celestial, from the Second Chorus," its beak spoke over the whispers coming from elsewhere on its person. Madoka searched her brain for memories of any time those words were used and learned in the past, but came up with nothing. Wait, Audrey's face came to her mind instead. She gritted her teeth and summoned a ferocious voice, though the universe she was floating in made her fight dissipate.

"You wore my Audrey's face in a dream, didn't you?"

"Yes, I came to you then in Her form," it admitted. The speed of which it confessed rendered her speechless. "You were not able to look at me in this form the last time we spoke, but now, here in the Great River we stand face to face."

"So?" Madoka realized it was right. The last time she spoke to this creature, it nearly frightened her to death. This time, unfortunately she could witness all its grotesque and pale glory. Perhaps, she was used to such alien things by now, but she did not like the new change in her one bit.

"The One Below's Corruption seeks to destroy you, Child," it continued. "It nearly did, but still, you answered Our song. Your God-patron has become a part of you and you— a part of it. Divinity will make you into something new. Hear me, Madoka, Child of the Stars."

Madoka instinctively wanted to cover her ears, but it was not like that would help against such an eldritch creature. It was not like it had truly harmed her, she guessed. She nearly gasped as the blue world moved and revealed a blazing orange sun above her head.

"You will be chased by Its Corruption when you wake, but know this, the Stars love you. They sing for you. Heed their song and find the last of Us, then you will claim your birthright— Divinity."

Divinity made her ponder. It sounded like something truly special, that was not only being thrusted upon her, but given freely. How could she, a mere slave, be someone with Divine power? Madoka knew not to trust the strange creature's cryptic words, but what else was she supposed to do? She recalled the Princess's words back when they escaped Fiara's broken Palace and cried their hearts out on the hills not yet corrupted; how she used all of the kingdom's treasures on her to revive her from death. Those talismans all channeled their power into her, lending strength to her. But what qualified her to have such gifts? Could it be that so-called Divinity was there all along? Could it be that Her Highness was wrong?

Madoka wanted to refuse that notion. Audrey could not be wrong about those magical objects, but her pondering forced itself into another hundred directions as if a dam was released. The dreams that she has had lately, the ones that seemed to be real even if she did not understand where she was initially. She thought about how the Adventurer Guild and its kind God Ceghinort treat her differently. The Crystal that gave itself to her willingly, almost like it belonged in her chest since the beginning. And finally, the princess's Golden Hand. The fact that she was here under and over all of these celestial bodies, wailing and humming; each singing with a strange hymn of their own as if proclaiming she belonged here with them. Was she a Star herself? Or had one all along?

All of that seemed like Divinity to Madoka, but her mind started to hurt from all these frenzied memories. None of these questions made sense to her when she truly pondered over them. It sounded like it all seemed to point to what the messenger had said, but logically, it did not make sense to her. She wanted to believe it, but could not reconcile the truth with her heart. She nearly jumped when she realized the creature was still standing there with her under all the stars and the heavens. Perhaps, truly, she had to accept that nothing about her was normal anymore. Madoka decided to ask the only question that mattered to her out of all of her spiraling thoughts.

"Will I see Audrey again?" She asked. The creature's beak gave a slight nod and its human eyes softened, as if the sight of its contorted face would comfort her.

"Of course you will," the messenger bowed. Madoka instinctively tried to rush over and stop it from doing that, but found out her feet had been rooted to the spot, swishing uselessly in the air. She was in space, after all. "Find the last statue and you will find Audrey. You chose her the moment you touched her."

The final statement it gave Madoka collapsed upon her far heavier than the black roots. She knew what it meant, but the walls inside her head could not accept the truth. A force pulled her down away from all the dazzling stars in the heavens and her face met the dirt. Painfully.

Madoka groaned, more from the dirt making her messy rather than the accompanying pain from collapsing on the ground; but heard wooden creaking and snapping behind her. She was back in the Uracksheegal! The grey morning light still settled upon this place like a blue cloak. The glint of Magnolia resting in front of her boot caught her eye, as if it was waiting for her to get back up and get back to work. A good friend, indeed, she thought as she scooped it up. The bushes rustled and the ground shook beneath her as a root tore through the ground and began to slither straight to her. Shit! Madoka scrambled to her feet and brought the axe down upon it. The root crunched under the axe's satisfactory weight effortlessly.

She had to find the last statue and finish the Link— there was still work to do!