Aqua stared at the aftermath of the bloody battle from a great height. When she had arrived, it was all but over, and the monster that had slaughtered the attackers turned back into the blessed child she had detected.
She crossed her legs in the air while she contemplated her next move.
Aqua studied the souls below. The humans' blessings clung to them like chains, thin but unmistakable. The elven knight's blessing was different. Brighter. Stronger. Not a chain, but a beacon.
That made it worse.
Even if the light did not bind her soul directly, it still marked her as chosen by the divine. A proper blessing, much like those given to exterminators.
Aqua's first instinct was to put the woman out of her misery.
Then she stopped herself. She, too, had once stood a hair's breadth from becoming a god's slave. Questions first. Purging later.
What also made her curious was that the woman's blessing had turned her into a horrible monstrosity: an Argus. Most blessings merely granted power without reshaping the body, yet this woman's was different.
Aqua didn't have any doubts in her mind; if anything, this individual was worthy of her attention. The white-haired woman had the potential to be either her first enemy or a kindred spirit.
She dispelled her flaming wings and divine visage, taking the form of the younger elven woman she once had been. Her halo became a circlet, its ruby set at the center of her brow. Then she opened a portal to the surface.
Stepping through the portal, Aqua found herself on the ground beside the former Argus. She gently placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, trying not to startle her.
But it did not work as the woman took a defensive stance immediately.
It was clear the woman was afraid; she didn't even know who she was or where she came from.
Aqua raised both of her hands in surrender before speaking loudly.
"I am a friend, I assure you. There is no reason to be afraid of me," Aqua said calmly, and yet she knew this wouldn't be enough to convince the knight.
The woman's hand shot toward the sword lying beside her, and she forced herself into a defensive stance.
Aqua sighed. "I'll warn you once. You can try to fight me, but you won't like how it ends."
Before the warning could fully register, the warrior lunged toward Aqua. Her strikes were devoid of finesse.
Aqua dodged slash after slash. The woman's speed was impressive; even exhausted, she still fought fiercely.
Each hack carried enough force to split trees, and every strike could have punched through thick castle walls.
Her wounds reopened, yet they did not seem to slow her down.
To Aqua's eyes, the woman moved slowly. To a normal elf, or almost any species from Aqua's old world, her speed would have been unavoidable.
When every slash missed, the woman jumped back and forced power into her blade.
Her fingers wrapped around the blade.
A moment later, she charged back at Aqua, her attack much faster than before, yet still far too brutish.
"Just power alone isn't enough," Aqua said, casually grabbing the woman's blade and throwing it aside. The warrior gasped as her life-force-enchanted blade was caught so easily. Still, she did not stop.
"I am not done yet!" the warrior screamed, launching a barrage of punches at the red-haired elf in front of her.
The knight's fist connected with Aqua's [Temporal Barrier].
The warrior's hand split open, bone protruding beneath torn skin, yet she kept punching the monster in front of her.
Aqua could see the question forming behind the woman's exhausted eyes. She looked like an elf, but her power said otherwise.
"Why would an elf help anyone from Red Dawn?" the knight kept mumbling to herself.
Then she reached a grim conclusion.
Her stance became more wobbly, and her hands shook.
"Why would an elf work for Red Dawn? They are hostile to our kind!" she shouted, her arms shaking. It took everything she could muster to stand, yet she did not have the luxury of falling.
"Why do you serve those who hate us?" she asked in a weak voice, before falling to her knees as her strength finally left her.
The woman's strength gave out. Whatever grim conclusion she had reached, she seemed ready to accept it.
As her eyes closed, she found some comfort: it had taken a Red Dawn inquisitor to kill her.
***
Aqua had no idea why she was asked such a question. After all, she just arrived here, and she had no idea what Red Dawn even was.
She didn't have time to question her as the woman collapsed at her feet.
Aqua was impressed. The warrior was not the strongest fighter she had ever seen, but her resilience made her stand out above most warriors Aqua had known in her long life.
Such a shame. She shook her head. She did not want to think about what had happened before, but it still plagued her mind.
She liked to believe herself emotionally distanced, and yet she couldn't deny that she still was hurt from the loss she had suffered at the hands of the Supreme God.
She shook her head again before kneeling down in front of the unconscious elven warrior.
She didn't want someone this powerful to die for nothing; she turned her on her back before placing her hand on her forehead.
Aqua was torn between fully restoring her through the Authority of Time and using her flames. There was one more issue: the woman's blessing had only fully flared during the fight. Restoring her through time would likely return her body to a state before the blessing had awakened.
She had no desire to provoke another divine enemy so soon after entering this world.
She was certainly not afraid of the divine in this world, but fighting them without knowing anything would have been ill-advised even to her.
After all, even weaker beings could beat something much more powerful by using unknown methods and strategies.
She decided against restoring the woman using the Authority of Time and instead would rely on her mastery over Aether.
Unfortunately, she lacked many spells that could automate healing others, leaving her to rely on manual spell weaving to help the elven woman.
She pressed her palm on her forehead as she closed her eyes, and she channeled her power.
Tendrils of flame spread over the woman's body, cauterizing her wounds and stopping the bleeding. Once the bleeding ceased, the flames shifted to a golden hue, covering each injury until it disappeared.
Aqua let the flames fade once she was certain no scars remained.
As the tendrils of flame dissipated, the tendrils of water took their place. They crept inside her mouth, making the warrior's body glow.
The knight took a deep breath, then coughed loudly, expelling the excess water.
The woman's breathing calmed, letting her rest peacefully on Aqua's lap.
"I will wait for you to wake up," Aqua whispered, gently brushing a strand of hair away from the woman's face.
A small blush appeared on Aqua's face. She is very pretty.