The Queen
A stalwart and mysterious figure that constantly stood atop the ill kept lighthouse, constantly watching for those who would dare to turn on its lantern to attract the attention of those outside the bubble.
The last remnants of those who tried were now joined together with the ship now overrun with the infection that they had inevitably spread to the sailors aboard the ship down amongst the rocky shores.
Using an ancient art inherited from her family hailed from unknown waters, the Queen stood day after day and night after night, standing guard to the sound of waves crashing against the Lighthouses Borders.
Guarding both the lighthouse from cowardly hands and the Boss cell from greedy ones.
And now, standing here at the end of a never ending cycle, the Queen stared at the four figures that had interrupted the monotony that plagued her for several years.
Standing well above even the tallest man from my world, an estimate against a mental image of a horse put her at roughly 2.3 Arabian horses tall.
Just as faceless as the Servants who tend to her every need, instead of a plate of gold bearing two holes for eyes, three glowing purple lines with an additional one slicing them apart were what took place on the black plated mask.
In addition to the mask, a floating crescent moon floated above her head with a likeness similar to a crown as she wore a half robe over her body lined in gold, a silver accessory with a purple gem holding it all together.
Quietly tapping the silver hilt of their blade, the Queen turned to look at the four of us. Me and the Three Servants. After ending their silent contemplation above the rocks and before speaking.
Quiet voice echoing through the air, it was as if her voice was being distorted somehow. However, i didn't stop her from getting the words needed to form a sentence out.
"...To confirm, your reasons for arriving at the furthest ends of the island was to meet me and warn me of a danger regarding possible hunters targeting the Boss Cell in my posession?"
A penetrating gaze seemed to scan the very essence of my being as I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle with tension.
"And to achieve your goal of warning me, you went through the trial by Soul Fire created by my Servants to filter out all the unworthy desiring to meet me and thus destroyed the very Lighthouse that was a vital part in containing the Boss Cell?"
I couldn't tell what was going behind that mask of hers, but I could confidently say that she wasn't particularly pleased with that logic.
"...To be fair I didn-"
"Be quiet"
Hearing the authority in that voice that wouldn't take no for an answer, the Queen turned to look at her Servants who were in the same Kneeling pose that I currently was in.
But unlike me who had already burnt off all the accumulated dust and ash on my body, the Servants were still covered in copious amounts of the wood dust and ash generated from the fall of the Lighthouse.
I could still see it's blue burning visage in the distance as the sea futilely tried to smother the flames with salt water.
It seemed soul fire was hard to quench by normal means seeing as it still continued to burn albeit weakly under the water.
"Tell me Euterpe, what were you thinking when you were releasing a Heavenly Strike?"
Euterpe, the Bow wielding Servant, flinched but swiftly suppressed the shivers desiring to take control of her body as she bowed even deeper to the Queen.
"I have no excuses my Queen"
Placing the tip of their blade on the Servants chin, she lifted up the Servants head...
As I now realize the Queen had somehow taken out their blade without a prior moments notice.
Stunned at the realization that I was completely unable to catch the Queen's movements, the Servant Kleio, the Bladed Tonfa wielding one, spoke up.
"My queen, if I may"
Casting a silent glance her way, she silently thought about it for a moment before giving her assent in the form of a seemingly distorted voice.
"Of course, as servants who have followed since my ascent to the throne, you are worthy of that much."
"Thank You My Queen" Lifting her head, the pair of faceless eyes stared directly into the Queen's own pair, a soft voice exiting the gold plated mask.
"It was because of something that man, Slade, had."
'What'
Blinking at how all the attention was now suddenly directed to me, I was granted the chance to witness teleportation as the Queen suddenly reappeared right in front of my face, purple light shining down on me.
"Truly?"
Subtly shrinking down my head, I readied myself to pull out a blade the instant I saw a hint of danger.
I may not be able to react sufficiently fast to avoid that teleportation like speed, but I sure as hell wouldn't go down without a fight
I may be getting slightly more used to dying than the average man, but that didn't mean I had to enjoy it like some sort of masochist.
So as I sat there tense for the instant I saw a muscle twitch in her shoulder, the Servant who had just betrayed for reasons unknown began their spiel to save me.
"If you shall allow me to explain my Queen."
"Continue." Keeping her gaze set directly on my face, I felt the unconscious pressure on my shoulders lift slightly.
Of course, even if 1 bit of pressure was removed from ten, I still had to deal with a high deal of pressure on my shoulders.
So as I sat there tense, Kleio lifted up her hand to reveal something that I couldn't currently see from my point of view.
Turning to look at what she had produced, the Queen paused in what seemed like hesitant confusion before nodding her head.
"I understand now."
'What the hell did you understand???'
As I mulled over whatever the hell it was that the Servant wielding Bladed Tonfa's had just shown the Queen, she turned back to look at me and suddenly that one disappeared bit of pressure returned with a vengeance.
A vengeance accompanied by 90 other bits of pressure making a grand sum total of 100
Seemingly staring directly into my soul, something that I thought was only possible during death and with Gods, the Queen pulled out their blade and pointed it towards my face
"Fight me."
"What?"
I seem to be questioning things a lot lately, but still.
Mind trying to understand what types of leaps and hurdles that the Queen's own mind was going through for it to eventually lead to wanting a fight with me, the Queen brought up something I couldn't possibly ignore.
"If you fight me, I'll guarantee my participation in the meeting with the ther holders" She glanced back at the Lighthouse collapsed against the rocks still burning blue with flame.
"If not, I shall wait till the next cycle to burn down the Lighthouse and complete the Resealing process, it shall take only..."
Kleio, the one who had thrown me under the metaphorical bus chimed in helpfully.
"A week miss."
"A week." The Queen turned to the burning blue sea now casting a ghostly glow on the shore underneath the black night sky dotted with stars.
"Two weeks then, one in this cycle, and one in the next. Until then, I shall be unable to participate in the meeting."
"Well you really aren't giving me much leeway here huh?"
Rubbing the back of my neck at the thought of having to tell the others that the Queen was going to be a tad late to a meeting regarding the fate of the island and possibly the world, I wondered how they would take it.
"To be clear, I just have to fight you correct? No winning or losing scenarios, just, I fight you and then you participate in the meeting with the Other Boss Cell Holders."
"Yes" The Queen swung her blade through the air generating a whistling noise from the wind being displaced at high speeds.
"Of course, if you attempt to not place any effort in this fight, you shall die and this deal would be null and void."
"I considered that for a moment before realizing that you probably intend for me to fight seriously to confirm something."
Getting up from the ground and dusting myself off, a spear materialized in my hands followed up swiftly by a shield in the other.
Pausing, for a brief moment it seemed as if the Queen's eyes was focused on my hands but I must've been imagining it as the Queen nodded her head.
"Of course I wanted to confirm something with my own eyes."
Snapping her feet together, the Queen placed one hand behind her back while the other was held out in front of her pointing the blade vertical to her body.
Swiftly following it up by a chilling sensation clawing its way around my body, I looked at the Queen as the distortion around her voice intensified as she spoke.
"It's Better to confirm things by yourself afterall"
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Tree that had lost access to the computer for a few days due to lack of power. (Everything got corrupted and had to be done)