Interlude- 4: Serie (Patreon)

Interlude- 4:

Serie

Serie dreamed. 

She dreamed often.

So many memories. So many ancient ghosts. Triumphs. Regrets. So much lost to the ages.

But not to her; not yet at least.

Today, as her eyes closed, ancient visions passed behind her closed eyes. The long gone voice dictating to her as it had ages ago, before the world even had names of its own.

Before the Ghost became what he was, before he was even born. Before the Gods taught him how to hate and draped him in the ashes of the dead. She knew his story. 

They were warned of his story.

How every Monster sent to break him became just another weapon to turn against them. 

How the rot spread. And the Pantheon bled for it. 

Worse than all of it however, she remembered the world he broke for the sake of vengeance. 

The vision of it, the warning, was as clear now as it had been in ages past.

Lernen told her that he did not see danger there, that he did not see aggression. But she’d carried this warning too long to not heed it, to not act as needed. 

Perhaps that would change. Perhaps he had changed. No longer the titan that brought the apocalypse.

Or perhaps he was merely… sleeping. Silent.

But even a Silent Godslayer was preferable to the alternative.

She wondered, distantly, if she could defeat him. Her future-sight was blind to him in so many ways. It frightened her in the best way. Thrilling in a way she hadn’t felt in many long eons. That uncertainty.

Still, it was idle musings. In spite of what the humans claimed, she was not the Goddess and had no illusions to the contrary. 

She would lose to the Ghost.

She wondered what she would feel when she met him… face to face. Perhaps the thrill of fear? Disappointment? A paradoxical relief?

Again, there was a very real unironic joy in this. 

Uncertainty. 

“Mistress Serie”

She opened her eyes, the light meditation she’d slipped into falling away. 

“Genau.” She greeted with a slow, languid blink and even slower nod. “What can I do for you.”

The most formal of her subordinates offered a bow, one hand across his chest. “My lady- you asked to be informed if we made a discovery.”

That made her ears twitch, her interest piqued. “Oh?” Had they passed her little test?

He nodded. “Yes. Lernen and Sense believe they discovered a ritual, one in the Scroll of Licht.”

She smiled ever so slightly. 

“Hmm. And what did it say?”

Genau looked at her, eyes flat, and cold and knowing. “Forgive me mistress if I’m misremembering my history but did you not write that scroll?”

Now she smiled in truth. “Hn. It must’ve slipped my mind after so long… Remind me.”

Genau stared at her for one long, long moment.

Then he nodded.

“The ritual describes a brief window of time, a moment where a doorway can be opened-”

She nodded. “I remember now.” She said, she didn’t need the explanation, merely knowing that her students could have discovered it without her was enough. 

In fact, she knew the ritual better than any other living. She was the only one that had ever seen it cast.

It had only been conducted only once, and thus could only be conducted once per year. On the exact same day of its first casting.

The Day the Goddess ascended to the heavens once and for all. A willing isolation, to protect her creations from all others with her divine protection.

A protection that, somewhere had failed. And that she now had to breach to excise the Ghost that should not be in this world. 

The Ghost that had been responsible in so many ways; in driving her to such a sacrifice in the first place. 

What unexpected turns Fate takes. 

She stood up from her throne moving to walk past Genau. “Should we send someone to fetch them?” He asked. “To bring them to Auberst directly?”

“No.” She answered with a shake of her head. “No need.” She knew that for sure, even if she couldn’t sense Frieren’s approach from here, their quest demanded they come here. It always had. “They’ll arrive before you know it.”

Genau bowed. “Very well mistress.”

“Don’t frown so much Genau.” She teased absently. “You’ll get wrinkles.” 

(X)(X)(X)

Okay -SO-

We are on the cusp of Auberst, the last arc of this story and as such I would like to take the time to ask the community, just like I did with Weaving Force, how they would like this to be handled.

Option 1, we continue as we have been, weekly updates that are 7-8 pages long (I know that this one is shorter but its an interlude bear with me).This would make the last arc (by estimate) around 14-18 more chapters give or take of course.

Option 2- We STOP with weekly updates (I stop with updates altogether really) and instead I release the entire last arc of this story sans epilogue in one sitting of 5-7 chapters. (1 chapter will be released publicly on the usual sites the rest will be held here as they usually are and be released on a weekly basis, so you all will still have multiple chapters early access when they are released)

These chapters should be, on average double the length of the "normal" ones we've been doing. So 14-16 pages

This would mean the story would be on "hiatus" for about a month and a half to 2 months while I dot all my I's and cross all my T's I personally do not mind either way, but I know the community typically does have a preference and you all should have a say. So I will be making a Poll very shortly for you all to vote.

Thank you all for your time and Lets all have fun with fun stories :)