No, none of that mattered to me. Agard didn’t seem to fully trust Nike, but I knew that soul transfer was possible. After all, I had been transferred into a different body with my memories still intact when I’d entered this world. Surely, this world could do that again for me.
Upon receiving my consent, Nike claimed that he required a massive amount of resources, and so, I decided to offer Xeoral to him. I was so tunnel-visioned. My head was filled with joy over the belief I could become human again, and hopes and dreams welled up within me. Not once did I question the devil’s whisper echoing in my ear.
We went up to Xeoral, entrusted Nike with the research, and Agard and I began to dream of our lives from here on out. He didn’t have much time to spare—though he’d no longer have to battle alongside someone powerful like me, thus delaying his deterioration considerably, nothing could fully stop it. I asked Nike about it, but apparently it was too late to do anything and was out of his hands.
Luckily, Agard apparently had some genetics that allowed him a prolonged life, and I was told that he’d live for almost a hundred years more. I was optimistic—surely, that was more than enough time to find some sort of solution. That optimism was probably just overexcitement on my part: When I was born in this world, God had protected me, and everything I did had gone well, so I had no reason to doubt that my future wouldn’t go well too.
And so, when the prototype was completed, I begged Nike to test it on me right away. He didn’t object and swiftly obliged. Nike probably didn’t care who his first sample was.
It was a huge success. The power of my soul trapped within the Armor of God was immense (or so I’d been told), so Nike provided a sturdy body that was part dragon, part elf, along with any number of other durable species that he could find. In total, the amalgam comprised a durable physical body that could handle any repercussions that might come from my powerful soul. Thanks to his efforts, in a manner of speaking, I managed to successfully transfer my soul over.
When I woke up, Agard, who had been watching over me worriedly, cried with joy. Finally, I could feel him. The moment I realized that I was just like Agard, I was the happiest person in the world. The only unfortunate issue was that my body moved clumsily right after I awoke, and I couldn’t fully embrace him as I’d hoped. But I didn’t mind. From here on out, I’d be able to hold Agard as much as I liked. There was still plenty of time left, and I wanted to live it all with him. The joy I felt was unmatched, and I thanked God from the bottom of my heart for this blessing.
We left Xeoral, and the two of us decided to quietly spend the rest of our lives in the place that we’d first met. It wasn’t all easy. The rehabilitation I had to go through so that I could fully move my body was frustrating and painful, but I was able to power through it because Agard was by my side. The saving grace was that my new form was highly durable, allowing me to master my body in no time.
To survive in this form, I knew that I had to interact with some people, even if it was at a minimum. I was so busy having fun that I failed to notice people around me avoiding my very presence, and my obliviousness one day dragged me into a few problems with the residents. When I glumly returned home, Agard secretly obtained my favorite flower from Xeoral and presented it to me. The flower, just starting to bloom, was so beautiful in my eyes that I was almost moved to tears. I was happy.
I was now steeped in the sensations that I’d failed to fully experience when I was an armor—at last, I was able to experience my time with Agard to the fullest. I was so helplessly and indescribably happy that I got to spend my life with him.
And then...it arrived. A suit of Argent Armor. I’d abandoned my former body ages ago and left it as an empty husk, but it now appeared in front of me with Nike. I hadn’t seen him for a good while now. He explained that Materia somehow or other allowed the armor to move, but his explanations were far beyond the scope of my understanding. But above all, I couldn’t understand why the armor insulted me and called me its “copy.”
The armor told me that in truth, the experiment was a failure. My soul had never transferred over, and my memories had simply been copied onto another body. When I was told that I wasn’t really myself, I could hardly process it—I couldn’t even begin to understand what it all meant. All I knew was that the armor in front of me emitted a murderous air so intense that I was terrified. She was filled with rage and sorrow that the person so important to her had been stolen away. Her clear hatred toward me was apparent.
Her emotions held the reins as she bore down upon us. Agard’s pleas could no longer reach her—she was so emotionally unstable that it terrified us. I was merely just a little girl sturdier than most. I didn’t possess the divine battle capability the armor had, and my magic that gave me visions didn’t activate either. Was it because I wasn’t used to this body yet? It felt like it was rejecting these spells in general.
No matter the case, it was then that I became aware that only my memories had transferred over to this body...and then the nightmare began. Ironically, our abode of happiness transformed into the stage of despair. Nike claimed that he wanted to somehow refine his failure, and thanks to my sturdy body, I was made into a lab rat for all of his sick experiments. The armor made me the subject of her crazed disdain.
Agard tried many times to save me and persuade the armor, but to no avail. The armor drowned in her rage and wasn’t willing to listen. Eventually, he was stored completely inside the armor—locked away like a precious bird in a cage, dragged into that ghastly, writhing chunk of muscle. His freedom was stripped from him, and he became an accomplice to the pain and suffering that was dished out on me.
The armor restrained him for her own happiness, chopped off his limbs so he couldn’t resist her selfish whims...the armor that was a version of me. I could hardly believe that this was my other self, that I had the capacity to inflict suffering upon our beloved.
I cried and wailed, begging my other self to stop. If anyone should go through such suffering, it should’ve been me—I implored her to reconsider. But all she—no, all I—did was laugh maniacally. I was terrified, and I couldn’t forgive her. She isn’t me. Give him back! I thought. Give my beloved Agard back to me! The moment she decided to hurt my precious Agard, an ugly, black emotion reared its head and exploded within my mind. I stopped thinking and let my emotions run wild as I unleashed everything I could. Could I win against the Armor of God? It was a ridiculous question to ask. Yet all I could focus on was rescuing my dear beloved from the enemy in front of my eyes.
I attacked with everything I had, my surroundings be damned. I didn’t care if the place around me crumbled away and the facility was destroyed. I used every power I had at my disposal and went all out against my enemies. And then...blood gushed out from my body. My organs cried out with pain, reminding me that I was a mere creation as well. Much like Agard, I was an unstable existence, built upon a delicate balance that could easily be destroyed. Even so, I refused to give in.
I didn’t care what happened to my body so long as I could get him back. I needed to destroy the enemy in front of me. So desperate was I that my beloved’s calls failed to reach my ears; I’d completely forgotten who I was attacking. What could I say? I was just a hopelessly stupid and foolish child.
I felt something hard give way under my hands, quickly followed by the squishy sensation of flesh. An intangible feeling enveloped me—a droplet in my murky lake of emotions, creating a ripple throughout and purifying the filth within my mind. And I heard Agard’s voice, ever so faint.
“Even if you kill me, I can’t bring myself to hurt you...”
I couldn’t remember when I stepped outside. I didn’t even know where I was. But when I came to, the area around me was scorched, evidence that intense powers had clashed against each other. Rain fell upon me, and I gingerly looked up at the being in front of my eyes. I saw that my right arm had pierced his chest, armor and all.
“Thank goodness. You came back,” he said, flashing the gentlest and most evanescent of smiles as he stepped away.
My attacks had removed his helmet, and I deduced that that may have allowed Agard to take control of the armor for just a split second. That ultimately led to his demise.
It was as though something had snapped within me. When the tension and my strength left my body, intense pain coursed through my veins. It was excruciating as my organs collapsed and crumbled within my body, but I couldn’t make a sound. I couldn’t cry out in pain, nor could I apologize to Agard or even reach out to him.
I heard the other suit of armor cry out hysterically. She called for Nike, and the two discussed ways to treat him and how this destroyed place couldn’t possibly accommodate their needs, forcing them to head to Xeoral. But my consciousness was becoming a muddled mess, and I couldn’t do a single thing.
Am I going to die here? Destruction and regeneration repeatedly occurred within my body—was I just going to suffer and writhe in agony here?
I’m scared of myself. I hate myself. It’s all my fault. Ultimately, I’m just like my other half—we’re no different. I’d let my emotions take control and resorted to violence as I went berserk. I’d acted just like that armor. I just want to fade away. But then I won’t be able to meet Agard again, and I won’t be able to apologize... Ugh, what am I saying?
I lost him. I killed him.
No, I refuse to believe that! I won’t...be able to take it...
As my consciousness began to fade, the last thing I saw in my blurry vision was a humanoid statue approaching me.