Hello everyone. It's been a while since I've contributed to the Riviera section, so I hope I do an okay job. This is the first time I've written from anyone's point of view other than Ein, so I'm not sure if this turned out the way it should have. Well, here goes…

Oh! And just so you know, this is in no way a LxE. So please, don't take it like that. Any reflection on their relationship is as friends/comrades only.

Disclaimer: I don't own Riviera the Promised Land, or any of its characters, places, or plotlines.

Shattered Glass

I am like shattered glass. Dealt a nasty blow, I crumbled into broken pieces, completely irreparable. Never will the pieces come back into place, not matter how one tries.

The trials that made me what I am are the original culprit. All the exerted toil and strain in hopes of gaining glory and a good life of service, all crushed by my now empty heart. My hopes were lost, forgotten as I stumbled around, groping for my former self, and a new purpose.

After a bit, it seemed as if the pieces had found their former place, and I believed I was whole once again. Not completely whole, mind you, for without my emotions, I would never be who I once was, but the pieces were together. However, the pieces had only been fixed with cheap glue, for the fragile pieces were once again scattered.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was so affected. It was not like I cared about him. Quite the opposite, for he was no more than a nuisance to me. Someone who was opposing the gods' will. So why did the pieces start to fall out of place?

And after I lost, when he refused to kill me, the broken glass, that is my very being, continued to crumble to the ground, like sand being swept up by the wind. Once again, I had been reduced to a pile of shards, pieces of shattered glass.

At this point, I didn't believe it possible for me to be damaged anymore, but I was wrong. The mere realization of Hector's scheme, and the betrayal he had dealt me took what was left and destroyed it until it was no more than a pile of dust.

So now, as I come in, just as she starts to sling the blow that will finish you, I have no regrets of what I am about to do. For you, unlike me, are whole and only ones as strong as you can stop Hector and save this land from the inevitable destruction that will come to pass if he succeeds. Only you can stop him. One as broken as me could never find the strength required to win.

So, if she's going to take one of us down, let it be me. I wince as the axe hits home, and blood comes up my throat, into my mouth and out through my lips. Leaning on Lorelei for support, I turn towards you and look up into the wide brown eyes as shock engulfs you.

Why you ask me. The answer I give is only a part of it, but I'll leave it at that. The rest is trivial, and will die along with me. Yes, I am dying, but somehow, it feels good. He's safe and Hector is going to be stopped. What more could I ask for?

As I slowly lose consciousness, I feel this odd sensation. It's so warm. Something wet slides down my cheek, and I am surprised to discover that it is a tear.

I can cry? Yes and this warm feeling…it's so new, and yet so familiar…

As I breathe my last, I recall the sensation. It's the feeling of being whole, or at least as close to it as I can get at this point.

I guess…shattered glass isn't as irreparable as I had thought…