This chapter truly showed Orphen's determination. I was a little worried about his condition as he was running through those hallways. It seems that his worry more than his physical condition had made him so frail. Perhaps Orphen is due a little karma because of his past but misery is dealing it tenfold! He has such a hard time expressing his emotions even after finally realizing that he was never really kind to Cleo, I hope that things will change now?

Cleo's fear is so well done, the poor girl is so weak and tired yet tries her hardest to protect herself. I love how she can faintly hear Majic's voice but dismisses it as a fantasy of being rescued. Even though it was a terrible situation I could feel myself smiling when she saw Orphen walking towards her and having them make contact again.

It's funny how Djiin says that Orphen has many names, likening him to the Devil; I think perhaps his wrath might be equal! The final spell he used was gruesome but so satisfying. It's a little scary to see how far Orphen will go in his conquest but I'm pretty sure that Cleo's pain and suffering has something to do with it. I can only hope that Cleo was semi-conscious during that just for a bit of redemption on her part, after all Cleo and Orphen are so much like one person it seems.

As always, your writing style shines and you've imparted me with such a sad romance that keeps pulling itself away each time it comes together. I await Cleo and Orphen's happiness, I really do.

Man, what a heavy chapter.
I'm definitely on Orphen's side on the murder of the vicar (though it did make me cringe a bit!) I guess you could say Cleo has brought out the best, yet also the worst in him? I really love how Majic is just so innocent and is easily afraid of Orphen yet is still so loyal. Hartia's realization of the dead priest's true intentions was great; questioning what Oprhen has done but then seeing the blood following him down the hall (perhaps finally realizing that he is just trying to make it to Cleo) You painted the stark scene of the discovery of the dead girls so vividly and it was terrible that the three had come to the point where they are digging through the bodies because there is not much hope left anyhow. Wow, his thinking on how the dead women might have deserved this because of their bloodlines yet that didn't make him feel any better was excellent. I can't get that scene out of my head.

Cleo makes my heart so heavy, just the feeling of never knowing what could have happened between her and Oprhen. How in her darkest hour she brings up these hidden memories and can hear Orphen's voice so clear. Sad. I'm wondering, was Cleo actually able to cast the spell to open the door or did someone let her out? I was so happy that she was finally able to get out of that room but that was taken back immediately when the voice spoke behind her and she was captured.

The scene in the amphitheater was absolutely horryifying but I'm thinking that the next chapter will bring a new level of terror. Hurry, Orphen!

Absolutely AMAZING!

I have found my way back to loving the SSO series and with every anime series I like, I go to FFnet to find out more about the series and possibly, the characters themselves. I remember reading this before.. And oh my God, I am so glad that I found your story again! I didn't want it to end. (well I guess after chapter 21 or so, I wanted more chapters. I don't like seeing/reading gore DX so I didn't want Cleo's torture to have been longer). I loved how you've written everything so well. The plot, the characters, the intense build up of the story.. Everything. I swear I felt like it was me getting hurt when one of the characters hurt whether emotionally or physically since you've written everything so well. If it was possible, I would have held my breath along the way from beginning to end from the story build up DX

I felt strangely connected to Cleo in this fanfiction, It felt to me like she was the main character in this fanfic and not Orphen. I don't know. I guess it helps being a girl, I felt really connected with her and how she felt. I laughed, get hurt and cried with her like I was her (LOL I wish! xD
the way you portrayed the characters is so spot on! I can imagine Orphen swearing like that even though he never really did that in the anime (I've yet to read the manga). And Cleo! I love her to death. I'm glad that you were able to portray her the way I think she should be portrayed. I don't get how so many people can hate her or get annoyed with her. They don't understand how wittingly funny she is and how she's one of the most important characters in the series. Without her, everything would just be blunt and I am sure the series would have been just a serious, humorless and flavorless anime. Everyone was in character. Majic, Steph, everyone.. You have done something to the characters that I never saw in the anime but there is no doubt in my mind that whatever you did to them, it is strangely believable. and the things they've done and said in this fanfic, I know they could have said and done in the anime if the animators let them xD

This would have been a better season two. I like season two, it just seems like this one would have the first season was kind of serious.(They should have made Season two the first one, and the first one, the second one! DX I hope I made sense).Please write more SSO fics. I feel sad that SSO has such a small fandom when it is such a great series.

I will probably read this again in the future, and I'm sure that I will find it just as amazing as I found it the first time I read it, and now that I have just read it again. Thank you for such an amazing story.

kana

Hohgod, I loved this story. I neglected housework and forgot that I have to housebreak my dog to read this. Can you move into my brain nao, plz? And continue to tell Orphen/Cleo stories?

This was an amazing ride of a story, and I honestly didn't want it to end. Thank you thank you thank you for writing it.

Mary B. Wolf

I'm almost speechless by how wonderful this story was. Almost. But I can still say OHMYGIDDYGOD that was AMAZING and I never expected to actually /adore/ a fanfic from SSO.
Your writing is absolutely gorgeous and the way everything flowed...I seriously couldn't stop reading! I'm especially fulfilled by the ending...it was just adorable and sweet but still had that tremor of the unknown that kept it real.
I honestly hope you never stop writing!)

amazingly written. this was probably the best SSO orphenxcleo fanfic I've ever read. wish that the actually anime had ended w. them actually a couple- seriously, what's wrong with some anime writers? lol

Wow, this is such a powerful story. I'm really impressed! And, I have a question... the names of each chapter, actually. Are they names of tarot cards?

Wow you're an amazing author, and I'm so glad I found this story! You rarely ever see a really good Orphen/Cleo fic, and I'm so excited to begin reading this!

I have to say that with out a doubt that this is one of the best fanfiction stories that I have ever read! The whole plot was fantastic and very unique, there was so much depth to the story that you almost had be in tears once it ended with utter sadness that it had to end.

I do hope that you write another equally awesome story for Orphen, and you can guarantee that I will be one of the people the read it!

Now to move on and read some more of your stories!

Hell... This is probably one of the finest stories and possibly the best fanfiction I have ever been so delighted as to read. In fact, I don't think I've ever been so awed at the end of a story like this that I had to start my review with 'Hell' only because I couldn't think of anything remotely intelligent to say. (And maybe because a day and half spent reading Orphen's endearingly gruff way of wording things has rubbed off on me a bit. Heh.
I have to say, you have a mastery for storytelling a lot of published authors can't even manage. I enviously admit I can't exactly ascribe myself to such a level, either. Where most writers get lost in the dramatic twists and turns of romance and angst, glancing over the major events surrounding the tragic pair to focus solely on the juicy love-affair, you managed to build up and bring to climax and conclusion a riveting-and believable- plot, rife with intrigue and adventure and self-torture and all the stuff of classic epics. And you still whet and satiated your readers' want for that tantalizing romance, too. Hot damn!
I was equally impressed by your inclusion of the series' most minute details and tying in what felt like all the characters in some way. I honestly can't tell if there's a seam between the original creator's world and your interpretations or expansions on it. Where most concoct somewhat believable but still contradicting or outrageous finite details of the magics or politics or character histories and manage to only prop them up halfway on shaky prose, you have seriously and earnestly delved into the fabrics of the story and pulled out everything and anything needed to make your plot natural. Maybe I over-scrutinize every word and statement to the weary bone, but even some of the simplest phrases you used gave insight to your real knowledge of the whole story (from all the stories, really-anime, manga, even the novel it seems). I was impressed by your descriptions of not just magic working, but how that magic works. And you did so without it feeling like a textbook, or an out-of-place tutorial. It flowed easily in a variety of ways, description, train of thought, dialog, narration... It was impressive to read, easy to follow, and not in the slightest bit difficult to take as fact.
I've seen it's not unusual to see Cleo given sudden magical attributes in fanfics, in one way or another, but it usually feels forced or completely farfetched. You've made it seem possible-heck, likely!- and you utilized it without putting too much undue emphasis on it. From the beginning, you didn't ghost over any of the characters' flaws or ridiculousness (New Shrimp Man, for example), in order to idyllically paint them with only the best traits. You portrayed them as they were already characterized, with all their warts and boils and gritty roughness as well as all their charms and wit and finesse. There was no backing away from Cleo's petulance, Orphen's bleakness, Majic's infuriating tendency to delay time-sensitive action with his panic or questions (Agh!). All that makes a person want to step into the world and throttle them, but brings the character's to life and gives them dimmension... Granted, the characters had that already latent in them from the original works, but you really didn't shy away from shining light through all their facets and showing their quirks. That's hard to do in original writing. It's a downright rarity to find in fanworks. Bravo!

And did I mention the plot? Because seriously, that was intensely satisfying. (It certainly felt far moreso than season two did, anyway. But then, you made even that seem redeemable in legit. Another bit of the story you didn't try to shove into a dusty corner.
I'm getting a little long-winded here. Most reviews I actually decide to drop are short and sweet. I guess I'm just a bit worked up in my excitement and dejection that inevitably bubbles up in me when I finish a damn good story. There's nothing more to read of it, so I just have to gush about it instead.
...But to top it off, you gave me the giddy rush that only comes when my absolute favourite thing happens. That is, discovering new words. I'm a bit of a word-fanatic, I guess. It's rare these days for me to read something and not think, "Wait, what's the definition of that word?" if it isn't jargon. I actually got to jump up and bound over to my dictionary and look some up. Three, to be precise. And that was just a blast. (No, really, I had to update my Facebook I was so ecstatic.) It's that feeling you get when you're utterly thrilled by something new and simultaneously embarrassed for not having known about it from the get-go. A little like falling in love... Okay, so I'm really am an overzealous word-nerd. I need to step away from this tangent.
But I think I'll have to start using sang-froi semi-regularly now. It's a blast to say.

Alright, I think I've gushed myself into an occasionally spurting puddle now. Not to mention this review is a little longer than is likely appreciated. Nonetheless, I felt it was my obligation to praise and expand upon the factors and nuances of your story that make it really shine above the rest. I reserve my true admiration for a writer to those I feel honestly own up to and deserve it, and you have shown me your more than deserving. I can do little else but applaud you, and goad you into consider publishing a story of your own making-assuming you haven't already, that is.

And as much of a delight as it was for me to stay up well into the morning to finish reading, I think it's high time for me to stop rambling on and sleep. Or at least go drink a sizable cup of coffee.
Kudos on this grand piece of work, and here's to hopes for more like it in the future!-Maeleene

Such an amazing story! The best orphen story there is! I soooooo hope you do another one. I loved this so much and I was so sad when it ended.

I absolutely love everything about this story! It was beautifully done, you painted such wonderful details with the way you wrote. Like their feelings, and emotions so vivid and easily felt, I truly enjoyed this story. Thank you for writing it and sharing it!

aaaaawwww what happened to Decklan? Sorry random I know, just you didnt mention the baby again lol. Oh em gee awesome story! I loved it! Haven't been able to stop reading! You're f'en amazing! Loved it, loved it, loved it!

You're right, the darkness does give you nothing else to do but think. All of Cleo's thoughts haunting her; endless regret, realization of her own selfishness, fear, starvation, the truth of love...I feel like pulling out my own hair for her. I can clearly see that cold cell with such a broken girl crouched in the shadows and with no relief this time. I loved the part where she imagined a warm gloved hand over hers which led us to her memory of the three of them in a field as Orphen taught Majic. It was a beautiul and sentimental change of scenery and I missed Orphen and Cleo's strange camaraderie. I can just see how frustrating it would be to have nearly every spell at your disposal and not be able to use them. I was really hoping that just the thought of Orphen would stir up something intense inside of Cleo...