My Raphtalia, My Queen (Raphtalia x male reader)

Chapter 11: The Third Shrine

The platform hit the bottom of the floor and locked itself in place. The ref light grew brighter for a second, and the walls in front and to the side of you were being replaced by a light blue wall of light. A large doorway formed from the light in front of you, which led to an expansive black room, larger than even the rooms and halls of the Castle of Melromarc put together. Thin white lines ran across the room, creating symmetrical squares across it. Roughy 400 squares away stood a floating red substance. You gravitated towards the liquid, its tantalising aura overwhelming you. As you walked up to it you heard the echo of your footsteps boom through the noiseless void you were in. The closer you got to the substance, the more intriguing it became

You stuck out your hand to it, wanting to wrap your tender fingers around it's soft warm glow. As the tip of your right index made contact, you were knocked back in an explosion of colour. You coughed and wheezed as you got up, struggling to make a sense of the area around you thanks to a blurred vision. As you came back to your senses, you saw that you were atop a large hill under a tree. In front of you, there was a vast amount of flatlands to go frolicking in. To the left of you was a great forest full of nature and health. And, to the right beyond the tree was a magnificent city; the Melromarc Capital. You heard footsteps trudge up behind you, which made you quickly spin around to meet the figure. It was Raphtalia.
"R-Raphtalia??"
"Hi (Yn)!" She smiled brightly at me
"Wh-What are you doing here??"
"I um...I'm here because...because of you (Yn)"
"What-What do you mean?"
"I'm here to tell you that...that I love you...that I want to be with you"
"Wait....really? Oh my...really??"
"Yes...I wanted to tell you this before I go..."
"Raphtalia I feel the same-Wait....go?"
"Yes (Yn)"
As soon as she said that the world started to stutter, almost as if it was glitching out. The sky became dark and dense with smoke, and there was fire everywhere. You were in Lute village, and there were fire, destruction and murder everywhere. Knights and villagers were being slaughtered by the incoming monsters. Raphtalia stood where she was, however, her smile had been deflated and only looked on in sorrow. She was covered in splashes of blood, with a sword sticking out of her stomach. Blood poured out of the sword wound in heaps, and tears fell down Raphtalia's tender cheeks as her legs gave way. You caught her before she hit the ground and laid her out gently. Tears fell furiously down your face.
"Raphtalia...please don't go...please don't go! You can't go! Don't leave me! Not before we can be together! Please! Not before I've said I love you!"
A weak smile formed before she coughed blood in my face. My heart crumbled as I held her head into my chest and sobbed
"Don't go! Don't go don't go don't go! Don't leave me! Please!"
Without warning, a sharp pain flew up your back and you were launched into the air. You flinched, preparing for impact into the fiery rubble of a house as blood was shot through the air. However, instead of the agonising pain that would come from slamming yourself into a burning house, you landed on a soft, feathery bed. You were in a large room that smelt quite sweet. To your left was an oak wall with a glass window; light shooting through it. You felt movement to your left, and you looked over to see Raphtalia sleeping soundly next to you. She gently opened her bright pink eyes and smiled when she saw you
"Good morning honey"
"H-hi Raphtalia"
She giggled "aren't you going to say a cute nickname for me?"
"But I just...we were in Lute village and..."
"Aww, baby are you having that nightmare again?" She grabbed your head and pushed it against her chest. Only did you finally realise that she was completely naked
"Raphtalia! Why are you naked?!!" You say in a panicked and muffled tone
She giggled once again "Aww, are you feeling shy today?" She brought your head up to her eye level and started to gently kiss your neck. You relaxed as her soft lips touched your bare skin. However, out of nowhere, a burning pain shot through your veins from your neck and you were thrown backwards. You landed on a plain field of grass. Mountains surrounding it from miles away. A puddle was in front of you, and from its reflection, you saw a scorch mark on your neck where the pain started. You also felt blood leak from the cuts on your back
"What the hell cuts me and burns me at the same-wait"
You quickly put on your armour formed from Rosmarinus and opened up the stones from their knuckles. You stood quietly, waiting for any sign of movement. A soft breeze tickled your right cheek. You felt it get faster and colder. With a swift jab, you hit something hard with your gauntlet that was charged by the power stone. A violent scream echoed throughout and the field glitched back into the room you were in before. Before you stood a great dragon with jagged scales and rugged teeth, but no tail. It shot out a fireball at you, yet you easily blocked it with your shield. You were now in the middle of a Melromarc market, filled with the hustle and bustle of daily life. There were screams and clanks and shouting and cries everywhere, making it difficult to make out any change in the air. You formed a bubble around you with the power stone to absorb any incoming damage. Slashes soon appeared on the bubble, and they only got stronger and swifter as time went on. Eventually, the bubble flashed a bright purple, which led to a smirk from yourself. You shock-waved the energy across the many districts of the city. A horrific cry came from the winds, and the city glitched out into the dark void room once again. The dragon was laying on the floor, panting in pain. Purple flames rose up from its seared skin, and its wings were burnt black. You gave it no time for rest, as you used the power and space stones in tangent with each other to freeze the dragon in place while pushing the jagged scales inwards, causing a mass exodus of blood and screams to be released from the dragon. With a mighty pushed you pierced every vital organ of said dragon. It heaved onto the floor, lifeless, cold and with a loss of blood. The body slowly grated into red particles and dissolved into the blood. The blood became a very beautiful and glamorous red, akin to the substance you saw when you first entered the shrine. It slowly merged together and hardened into a fragment, and floated over dutifully to you. You pecked it out of the air and slotted it in beside the space stone. You felt a great wave of energy hit you, almost as if your mind was finally set free from the shackles of reality
"Reality..."
"Huh? Who's there?"
A rush of darkness flurries from beside you, forming into a great, grand and familiar dragon
"I see you have gained a shard of the reality stone. Impressive"
"Reality Stone?"
"Yes, child, The Creation of Reality. With this, you may bend the laws of reality as you see fit. Nothing can withstand its power"
"Incredible..."
"Yes, quite incredible indeed. Now, child, I believe I owe you three questions and a surge of magical power for your Ancient Touch?"
"I believe so, yes"
"Very well, please speak your first question child"
"Who did I just fight?"
"You have just fought my sister Agria. She was an energetic, fierce, fiery yet kind-hearted dragon. She had a vivid imagination and was always speaking her mind. She was quite an obvious candidate for the reality Stone guardian."
"I hope I could meet them in person one day"
"As do I child, as do I. Now, the second question"
"How powerful are these stones really?"
He gave his trademark thunderous laugh before focusing his attention back on you once again
"Child, even though these stones may be fractured they still have great power to fear. The power stone, for example, could erase half the universe with just a snap of your fingers, not to mention making you invincible. However, even as a shard it still has the potential to destroy an entire planet with the flick of your wrist"
"Wait really??"
He chuckled "yes really. Now, onto your third and final question child"
"How were you able to speak to me before in the city"
"I am alerted to when a champion is in critical danger, and I may usually give them words of advice to aid them. If that doesn't work I may grant them some of my power. And, if all else fails, I can take other their body to fight on their behalf, unleashing my full power onto their foes"
"Wow...you dragons sure are amazing"
Shargoth gave a humbled chuckle "thank you, child, now if you were to bring out your right arm-"
"I forgot to thank you for knocking me out last time" you retorted as the magically emitting tendrils wrapped around your right arm, being absorbed into it. Shargoth have a mighty laugh
"You do not need to mention it child" he flashed a hearty smile "now, you may go back to your world now"
"Thank you Shargoth-Wait MY world? Which world are we in then??"
Shargoth roared a hysterical laugh "another question for another time child. Farewell"
As soon as he said that Shargoth disappeared into dancing shadows. You sighed and turned back around to head onto the platform. As you were being shot up towards the surface, only a singular phrase was racing through your mind

You are the most feared and ingenious creature to walk this plane of existence. You are Gilada's champion

(Authors notes)
Hey everyone! Sorry for the short chapter I just wanted a more streamlined story this time, even if it was quick. This'll give me more time for next chapter though, so everything has a silver lining
Till next time 👋