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1093. Lachesis, the Weaver of The Strings
🕑 Added 2025-10-19 14:02:06 +0000 UTCGlitter fell from the sky.
It had no origin.
It materialized from thin air and fell like the ashes of a volcanic winter. They dissolved into motes of string as they touched the earth. A beautiful, four-winged entity stood in the distance. She stood over 3 meters tall and possessed six elegant arms that were draped in a hauntingly pale dress.
Fluffy mounds of light blue fur grew from her shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and other bony protrusions. A scarf made from the same material wrapped around her neck. Each hand was covered with a blue silken, lace-like glove that ran from her fingers to just shy of her shoulders.
Her wings remained wrapped against her body like a shield. Slowly, they unfurled, revealing beautiful, colorful patterns that mimicked the human eye. Her face was as breathtaking as the rest of her being. She had thin lips, and her face was layered with an azure layer of fur, with her cheeks being the fluffiest.
Her eyes were pitch black. The sclera, iris and pupils were combined into two dark spots. Swimming within those eyes was light that shimmered like the surface of a moonlit lake. A large spindle hung from her waist, and she gently ran a hand along the string compiled along its shaft.
An elegant melody played, like she was plucking the strings of a harp.
“Lend us your guidance.”
“Oh. Greetings. You must be an Angel. Pardon my manners. But you should not be here.”
She was polite, and her voice carried an angelic resonance that caused Jury’s concentration to wane once more. Jury deeply swallowed, wondering who or what this person was exactly. Res did not seem to know, neither did Acedia. Raoul could not see her, since he was stuck inside of the Isolation Sphere.
The first thought that came to her mind was that she looked just like a…
A moth…
The dual antennae over the woman’s head wiggled, as though reading her thoughts.
“Hello?” She gracefully tilted her head to the side. Her body followed. “Can you speak? Should I give you a blank Script to write your thoughts on?”
“… Jury, her stats…” Res could not believe it herself, and her breath hitched when she gave the stats a second glance. “She’s not Blessed. Like the Milinid.”
Jury quickly regained control of her senses and swiftly checked the being’s status.
Lachesis
The Weaver of the Strings
< Moirai >
||| : |||
LEVEL : |30 ORIGIN : Mothlinen HP : ||| ATT : ||| MAG ATT : |||
ATT DEF : ||| MAG DEF : ||| MP : 730,000 RESIST : ||| AGI : |||
“Oh! I’m very surprised you can see my mana. I thought I had wrapped them with enough strings to hide them. I’m very impressed! That must mean you have a second pair of eyes that aren’t affected by my bindings.”
Though she had a blank expression, she formed an imperceptible smile, as if humored by this.
“A CognitiO Filter? Scrambler?” Jury didn’t know what their plan was, and she wondered if their manner of speech was a way to get her to further lower her guard.
The woman swayed her body to the other side.
“It’s how we block the perception and interception of fate. Or in this case, its comprehension. Only I can read the allotments along the strand of moira our Clothsatia spins. Such information cannot be inferred, even by your lovely Blessing of the Amalgam. If that was the case, then there would be so many hungry precognitives.”
“Do you believe you know the outcome of our war?” Jury spoke calmly, seeing that this person was willing to talk.
“I do. I truthfully do. Honest.” Lachesis spoke warmly. “I know how all strings end. I know the measure of suffering all Actors will face. But fear not, because I’m not the one who severs or orders the severing. I imbue the message into the Scripts unconditionally. I wouldn’t want to eat a Commandment.”
No one knew what she was talking about. Eating Commandments? A precognitive? Moira?
Nav
< Unknown >
“Frost is heading to Marionette. Why can’t we wait for them to settle it themselves?” Jury pleaded but remained firm.
Level one hundred and thirty at most. She’s weaker than the Milinid on paper. But she’s a Moirai. I’m guessing she’s the same as Marionette?
Nav
< I am as in the dark as you are. I’m once again reminded that looking through Frost’s perspective makes things a thousand times easier for us all >
Jury did not have [Comprehension] or [Analyze Target] to peer any further. Furthermore, there was no doubt Frost would be able to see Lachesis’ stats properly.
“We don’t have to fight.” She reiterated. “I really don’t want to fight you, let alone have to hurt anyone.”
Lachesis suddenly wore a mournful expression.
It seemed like she was about to retreat and call off Act X’s attack.
But Jury should have known better.
“I know. Such is the tragedy of this stage play. No one will ever do what’s best for us. We are marionettes. Each of us. What must be done will be done.”
“You can stop this.” Jury tried to convince her. However, she had no ammunition, and her plead fell onto dead ears…
No. Lachesis heard her. She knew the cost of this battle. Her expression was a clear indicator that she was not as heartless as Beholder Marionette. Yet, she did not relent, as though her life was on the line.
“Beholder Jury. I think you know that I will not stand down. For me, it is the choice between myself or a pair of humans I have never met.”
“Is there really no other way?” Jury bared her teeth in a show of sorrow rather than wrath.
Lachesis waved a hand in the air, spreading more sparkling ash across the Grand Stage. Her expression was full of remorse. Merely looking in the direction of the fallen Act X personnel caused her to wince, but she quickly steeled herself and set her gaze upon Jury.
“I can wait. I certainly can. But, in the eyes of the watcher upstairs, I cannot afford to stand and do nothing either.”
Four thin rapiers appeared in her hands. The lower two were reserved for tending to the spindle. She held them in a double cross-shaped pattern, and then wiped them against her neck fur, as if she did not wish to dirty Jury should they cut her.
“I’m sorry, Beholder Jury. Perhaps we can converse at another time, in another place…”
She gently moved her wrist in one direction, and a seismic cut suddenly swept across the battlefield, landing squarely against Jury’s chest. It failed to puncture her apparel, but the force was enough to push her back.
And this was in spite of her having increased her weight by tenfold.
“… far away from its web.”
“You are not level 130.”
“I am not. I’m at least a hundred levels higher.” She did not attempt to hide it.
Jury wracked her mind on why she even admitted this. What was the purpose of hiding her Stats if she was going to state them anyway? Was it another tactic? Was her level much higher, or was this a conditional, one-time attack?
Its low damage output further confused her.
The woman only tilted her head mournfully at Jury.
“Honest.” She hummed. “Always honest. I swear upon my race as a Mothlinen Radiant, the very last of my royal bloodline. Beholder Jury. I won’t damage your apparel. I can tell how precious it is to you. In exchange, please frequent the Unlying Tablets for healing.”
A bluff was all Jury could think of. Her heart told her this. But her rational self was wary that Lachesis was far stronger than she believed. Jury was a Beholder first and foremost. While she could not fight another Beholder one on one yet, she did not believe an Atelier possessed a being that could rival her.
She had to wonder just who Lachesis was.
She’s not attacking me yet… Is she waiting for me to strike back? What is she doing?
Jury’s pondering came to an abrupt end as Lachesis raised a hand. She sent another long-range strike, which Jury was able to parry with her tail. The attack was highly telegraphed. Jury would have to be a fool to be struck by it again.
The pale columns that riddled the Grand Stage began to shake. Suddenly, two rose into the air before plunging back into the earth. A wave of cracked marble rippled throughout the battlefield as a large climbed the pillars.
Then, a blur of Act X personnel spilled from the fissures.
“The pillars…? Were they hiding in there all along!?”
“They were transported… The pillars were stabbed deep enough to bring them from the lower levels.” Res hypothesized.
“Do they not remind you of the legs of an Anid?” Acedia pointed out, and they came to a horrifying realization about what these colossal pillars were.
“Anid… Legs… They’re the Milinid’s legs…?”
“Beholder Jury. Focus. The south section will be safe from any incursion so long as we engage. That is a quarter of the battlefield you will not have to worry about.”
“Are you helping us–!?” Jury intercepted another strike that was sent her way.
“I am doing what I must. However you interpret my actions do not concern me so long I do not feed you falsehoods.”
“Why–!?”
Jury almost didn’t see Lachesis’ next move coming. She had closed the gap in an instant, and Jury was just fast enough to clash with the rapier and then follow it up with a swift tail swipe. This sent Lachesis sliding backwards. She floated across the broken terrain, her bare feet gliding across the shrapnel.
Then, she hovered in place and tilted her head and wore a cryptic expression.
“Beholder Jury. Engage me. Do not allow your mind to stray. Do not allow your emotions to overwhelm you.”
She dragged the tip of the rapier against her throat and slashed a piece of her mane off. The thread was absorbed into the shaft of her spindle, and her eyes suddenly watered.
“Please.”
And with that, she reengaged Jury with another heavily telegraphed swing.
Only this time, it was slightly faster than the last.
Comments
Shiny Umbreon
I’m currently re-reading the book at the start on scribble hud and I’m enjoying it all over again, if you ever plan to make a physical copy of this you will have my support.🫡
Syringe
Fixed, thank you! Thank you for reading!
Windezz
draped in hauntingly pale dress. -> draped in a hauntingly pale dress. Am elegant melody played -> An elegant melody played
