Na had not moved a muscle. His eyes stared at Bibi's corpse from a distance, unable to utter a single word. Bibha, tired, said nothing, hoping that she had really killed her opponent. The spectators said nothing: no shout, no murmur, only unbearable silence.

Bibi would never get up again.

Na finally took a step, but he fell to his knees with a thump. The full weight of the scene he had just witnessed took effect on his body. His breathing had quickened and his eyes stared at the corpse without moving. There was no sound from the audience, the arena was silent. This kind of fight had been seen before in the Great Sanctuary, although Bibha was not always the one fighting; sometimes it was Naim, sometimes even Donnow, sometimes others. The result of fighting could lead to death, so this was not the first time the residents of the Great Sanctuary had seen such a sight. From the blood flowing from her body, Bibi no longer emanated any trace of life.

Na knew very well that she had been killed by Bibha.

She had lost her fight and it had cost her her life.

Na could not believe it. Even though he had lost his memory, he still knew what it was to die, to cry or to suffer. His heart beating so strongly in his chest, the pain eating away at his insides and his hands wanting to shake. He had never felt anything like this before... and he wished he never had a reason to cry.

Because the tears that flowed down his cheeks were invisible to him. He didn't even realize that he was crying.

In his eyes reflected only the figure of Bibi, the person to whom he had become attached. She had kissed his lips, fought one last time and lost. She had failed to dodge or block Bibha's attack and had perished. Such a heavy weapon could crush the organs of anyone who dared to take it and the woman had put a lot of her strength into it. Na had wanted to avoid this situation, the one where he was still standing, but Bibi was lying. His eyes were still alive, his smile remained, but his life was gone. After defeating such a powerful Longer, she could not defeat Bibha. This last one who had been beaten so easily by Kill was the one who defeated Bibi. Of course, she had not had all her strength. She had not been able to get into her other form.

But Bibi could have won. Bibi was the more powerful of the two.

The audience began to shout, the silence finally disappeared. Their excitement "woke up" Bibha who blinked and straightened her back. She looked around and caught her breath.

- I won...

She couldn't deny it: she had been certain she would lose in that last exchange. When Bibi had gotten rid of her vines, Bibha had seen her own death in her opponent's aura. She had given it her all, but she believed that not even Effuka could save her.

However, she was the one who had beaten Bibi.

Her heart beat with an excitement that she loved, that she wanted to cuddle. Defeating such an opponent was pleasurable. Killing her proved her worth and she could smile without shame. She sighed heavily, happy to be the one still standing.

- Aaaah...

Bibha wouldn't accept new people into the Great Sanctuary unless she considered them worthy. Bibi and Na, both of them, were just trash in her eyes. A man with no Power, with nothing for him, with mediocre looks and a girl from nowhere with an unpleasant aura. She had managed to defeat a level 6 Longer, something that impressed her. However, that was not enough for her: power was not what she was looking for, but confidence and sincerity. She had many conditions in mind and both of them did not respect them.

So when they were rescued from their hands, the idea of revenge had crept into her.

Now she had to kill Na.

On the one hand, she didn't want to do it. Bibha turned to the man who had fallen to his knees, watching his dead friend. The audience continued to shout in their excitement, happy to see Bibha win. Na, the man before her, was without Power. Without power. Without strength.

Without value.

Bibi had been her real fight, he was just a pile of dust that she could crush, blow on or even abandon. After all, he was no danger to her. Even if he were to attack her out of desperation, nothing could happen to her. Bibi had brought Na back to the arena for no reason, since he was useless. She started to walk towards him, her weapon in her hands.

She didn't care about the man's life.

She could leave him as well as kill him, tell him to leave or never let him go. She didn't see him as a danger and didn't feel anything in particular towards him. He was just a weakling who had followed a fool. Bibha clicked her tongue and stopped three steps away from him.

- ...

She didn't see the point of killing him. She didn't want to raise her gun and take his life for no reason. He could come back for revenge: she would kill him then. She was not afraid. She was not afraid. So she would let him go, but she would never want to see him again in her life.

- Your girlfriend is dead, so I'll give you a chance to leave.

Na's eyes were still on Bibi. He thought of nothing but her, his heart not accepting that she was dead. He had woken up only a few days before he saw one of his friends killed before his eyes. While they both had to return home, Bibi could never escape this place. Her corpse would remain here, along with his soul.

Despair.

Something Na hated, but he didn't know it himself. Negative, dark and painful. He wanted to believe that it was all a dream, that it was only part of the ordeal. Yes, he and Bibi had to go home. His friend had a village to return to. He had Sheerah and the Federation. One day they would meet again, but that was not possible if Bibi was dead.

But she would not come back alive.

Na's body was completely still and his eyes stopped shaking. His tears stopped flowing and the life in his eyes stopped showing. Bibha squinted her eyes. His Aura...

Na was gone.

She had done nothing to him. She hadn't moved, but Na had lowered his head and his Aura had... gone.

- Is he... dead? she asked herself.

Bibha didn't want to check, certainly not to touch him. Perhaps his sadness was so powerful that it literally broke his heart? Bibha had not seen anything like that with her own eyes, but she knew it was not impossible. She dropped her weapon to the ground and particles of dirt flew in all directions. She touched her own hip with her other hand and watched Na, wondering what to do with her body. She sighed.

- Whatever...

She could give it to the scientists: maybe they would have something to do with it. Bibha turned back to Bibi, her corpse still at the end of the arena.

There are some things that are better left asleep.

The audience had calmed down in their excitement, but they weren't talking. They weren't saying anything. Bibha had stopped and silence had returned. Well, that wasn't entirely true.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The sound of the damned souls was breaking their eardrums.

YES, O MORTALS, LISTEN TO THE SONG OF THE DEAD AND LET YOUR HEARTS EXPLODE.

SUBMIT YOURSELVES UNDER ITS POWER, FOR DEATH ITSELF FLEES UNDER ITS GAZE!!!!!!

Bibha. The audience. Hundreds of meters away, the silence that could be seen from the outside was a lie.

THEY ALL HEARD THE SCREAMS OF THE DEAD,

THEY ALL FELT THE PRESSURE ON THEIR SHOULDERS, THEY WERE CRUSHED UNDER ITS POWER.

REGRET YOUR BIRTH.

Bibha stood still, her eyes trembling in their sockets and the view around her blurred, black and white and tinged with blood. It was as if the souls of the dead were trying to catch her, shivers down her spine and her breath was cut off. Some of the audience had already fainted, others were drooling while holding their throats, impossible for them to take a single breath. Everything was shaking around them. It was so cold, but the shivering wasn't from the temperature. Bibha had dropped her weapon and could not think straight. She was gasping for breath, but her lungs could not breathe.

Look at him, that man with the old sad look.

STAYING AWAKE WAS UNBEARABLE. THE PAIN OF SUCH PRESSURE ON HER SHOULDERS. TO TEAR OUT ONE'S EYES SO AS NOT TO SEE THE WORLD TREMBLE ANYMORE!!!! PIERCE YOUR EARDRUMS TO STOP HEARING THEM SCREAM!!!!! TO EXPLODE THE HEART TO NOT SUFFER ANYMORE IN THIS MOMENT!!!!!!!!

He who had fallen on his knees, got up.

Bibha could no longer bear what was happening to her. She did not understand anything, but she did not try to understand. She just wanted to get rid of the pain and breathe again. SHE WANTED AIR! On her knees she fell, HER LIFE WANTED TO DROP OUT OF HER BODY.

He raised his head, his unkempt brown hair following her movement.

More and more people fainted. Some died, unable to bear the abominable pressure. DEATH WAS A GIFT TO THEM AT SUCH A TIME.

His eyes shone a golden yellow, bathed in a soft rainbow.

This man had an Aura that was more powerful than mortals. Even the Gods would be jealous of it.

This man was no longer a man. He had passed away, but Na was not dead.

However, this man had the appearance of Na, nothing in him was the same.

This man was no longer Na, but something else.

He was bathed in an Aura so weighing, so heavy, that remaining conscious was almost impossible.

His movements were calm. His gestures were gentle. He turned to Bibha, who had not yet managed to swallow air. She felt like it had been minutes since she had "woken up"...

But 30 seconds had not yet passed.

"Na" did not take any steps. He did not move, he remained in the center of his own Aura. His hair flew in all directions, his clothes no longer knew the gravity of Arcave, and his eyes continued to glow.

He slowly opened his mouth while staring at Bibha. Na's body, but it was no longer him. What was inside him was—

- I will kill you.

THOSE WERE THE ONLY WORDS HE SPOKE, BUT BIBHA HAD NEVER FELT SUCH FEAR. HER HEART COULDN'T TAKE IT AND SHE LOST CONSCIOUSNESS...

Only "Na" was still standing. Bibha, the audience and some people in the Great Sanctuary at their posts...

All of them were unconscious, his aura far too powerful.

Effuka was not in the Great Sanctuary, but she would have been the only one to endure such an aura.

Well, one of the only two.

As "Na" was about to raise his hand, his body was violently crushed and the ground beneath him cracked with an alarming noise. He was lifted into the air before being struck on the head ferociously and slammed to the ground. His eyes stopped glowing and the unbearable aura disappeared. He was grabbed by the collar and the woman gritted her teeth.

- I can't believe it...! she shouted.

She looked around and blinked before running to the body of a girl. She had Na in her arms, her Etholys Rune making noise with every step. The woman reached Bibi and stopped.

- ...

She didn't need to touch her to know that she was dead. She had been killed... She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth again, anger visible on her face.

- ... 'Fuck...!

That woman was Kill.

The only one who had resisted such an aura.

She had been the fastest she could be. When the thing in 'Na' had woken up, Kill was sleeping. She was awakened with a start and immediately realized what was going on and ran as fast as she could. Seeing everyone passed out, some dead, their organs exploding from the inside, she knew she was too late. Although she didn't care about people's lives, she didn't want unnecessary deaths like this... She looked at Na and squinted her eyes.

- ... I don't know who you are, but...

She closed her eyes and never finished her sentence. She ran out of the Great Sanctuary with Na in her arms. Grabbing Bibi's corpse would do her no good, so she decided to leave herr in the arena.

- I knew I should have stopped them... Give a damn about others, Kill.

She still couldn't believe what had happened. She never thought something like this would ever happen... Na had lost his memory, but Kill wondered, right now, if it wasn't a good thing...

- Maybe it's better that you never get it back.

She arrived outside the Great Sanctuary and caught her breath. She was far from tired, but her body was still struggling. She wondered what she should do with him...

- .....

Kill looked up and took two steps back. She frowned and looked at the man who had just appeared before her.

- ... Who are you?

She knew it was a man because of his build, but his head was hidden by a blue hood. The man looked at the woman in front of him, but did not answer her question. Kill gritted her teeth, not wanting to be played with. She was about to shout her question again when he decided to answer her.

- I'm the one who put this young man through the ordeal.

Kill was suspicious of this man: he had come out of nowhere, as if he had teleported... She held Na tightly, not wanting to give his body to anyone. After all, even if she didn't know who he really was, she now knew something about him that was terrifying...

- I'm not trying to take over this young man's body, ma'am.

The man lowered his head before walking calmly toward Kill.

- You see, since he defeated Bibha, that means he is a member of the Great Sanctuary; in short, he has passed the test.

He raised a hand.

- So he deserves to go home.

Kill tried to stop him by stepping aside, but she could barely move as her body became lighter. She looked down at her hands and noticed that Na's body was no longer there. She gasped and clenched her fists. Kill looked up at this stranger.

- YOU KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE HIM?! she screamed.

She took a step toward him.

- You know what just happened, right?

The man said nothing.

- You really want to let him go free?

No answer came from his mouth. Kill stamped her foot on the ground, but she didn't insist. She scratched her hair violently and shook her head. She couldn't believe her eyes...! If she had known that Na held such a secret, then... Then......

- ...

The man touched his hood, but did not remove it. He turned his head to the sky and smiled, even though Kill could not see it. In his masculine voice, he spoke.

- Arcave will meet its end. However, will it be a Renewal...

- ... or the Apocalypse?

... Na?

.... Na???

Hey, Na!

NA, WAKE UP!

The man opened his eyes suddenly and was startled. He got up and breathed with difficulty. He turned his head in all directions before looking at the person who had woken him up. She tilted her head and looked at him.

- ... Are you okay...? asked Sheerah.

Na stared at her without saying anything. He looked around and noticed that he was in his room... Well, the one Sheerah had kindly lent him. He touched his head and blinked a few times. Sheerah sighed.

- You fell asleep on the way here and didn't want to wake up... Hushi told me that nothing was wrong, but that I should keep an eye on you.

- ...

- Glad to see you awake.

She stretched and got up from the chair she had put in front of his bed. She put it away and looked Na in the eyes.

- What happened to you that caused you to sleep like this...?

Na did not know what to answer. Was he dreaming? He touched his neck and blinked as he felt it... He lowered his head and clenched a fist, but said nothing. Sheerah sighed.

- It's okay, you know... It's just that I have an important mission to carry out, so I won't be here for a few days, so visiting the ruins will be for another time.

She gave him a little caress on the head.

- Do not fall asleep, the next time,” she let go.

Na nodded, his head still down, and Sheerah left his room, closing the door behind her. She wanted to say something to him, but she closed her mouth and preferred to leave already. The sooner she finished her mission, the sooner she could return to the Federation...

Na lay down in bed and looked at the door with empty eyes. He wasn't sure what had happened... He wanted everything he had experienced to be a dream, but he could still feel what he had been offered, and that around his neck...

- ...

He didn't know what happened after Bibi's death. He just remembered falling on his knees...

- If I'm here, does that mean I'm back... So I passed the test...?

But Bibi had lost and Na could never have done anything against Bibha... What had happened, then? He did not know. He held himself in a ball and sighed. His head hurt, too much was going on in his skull. He closed his eyes and let a tear fall onto the blanket.

— I'm home, Bibi…

[To follow in :

EVEN IF WE DIE]