“In the end, it’s only miasma.” I spoke quietly.
After being plunged into darkness, I felt something attempting to attack, but it was a miasma attack. If I didn’t have a god soul with miasma affinity, this might have been a challenge, but neither I nor Alysia would be affected by it. When I spoke, I noticed my words didn’t come out. I repeated them with Slave Communication.
“This darkness seems to be blocking all of my senses. Do you know where we are going?” Alysia asked in response.
“I’m sure this is some kind of test. Stumbling through the dark, having to find Miki even though you can’t see or hear her.”
“How are you supposed to find her then?” Alysia asked.
“I don’t know? With your heart?” I joked.
“Heart…” Alysia repeated thoughtfully and then perked up. “Do you think there might be something left of the bond between you and Miki?”
“That bond was destroyed by the Illusory Sword Realm,” I explained. “I can’t track her with my skills anymore.”
“I know that… I meant, is there a chance you still can feel something? Miki wouldn’t have designed this to be unbeatable. If you were right and she expected one of the other girls to be in my place, then she had to believe they’d have some way of reaching her. Furthermore, only a former slave of yours should be able to find her. It’s a means of keeping anyone else from completing this dungeon.”
“Can you feel anything?” I asked.
“No… but I wasn’t your slave when Miki was still connected to you. You have to consider she’s a spiritualist. Her sensitivity toward such bonds would be many times greater than others. It was possible she didn’t realize just how hard this bond would be for them to follow.”
I closed my mouth. She might be onto something. Just considering what Miki’s intentions were, she might have expected it to come to this. I slowed to a stop, and then closed my eyes. Rather than plunge forward aimlessly, I started feeling my way I was trying to pay attention to anything. An inclination, the tiniest tug. I didn’t know how long I stood there in the dark, but Alysia didn’t say anything nor move an inch. She was used to silently being by my side as my sword. If anything, this dark environment where all she could feel was me was natural to her.
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“All… she can feel is me,” I spoke into the nothingness.
I felt something. I didn’t know if it was imagined or not. It felt like the most imperceptible tug. It felt like someone I cared about was reaching for me. It was a tug not at my body, but against my soul. Compared to the kind of pulling at my soul that brought me to this place, it was nothing, but I believed I felt it. I took a step, and then another. I slowly began to move forward through the darkness. The more steps I made, the more certain I became that I was heading in the right direction. I didn’t know how long I walked through that darkness. It could have been as long as an hour. Time was running short, but I couldn’t panic. I had to reach her.
Light struck my eyes, and I opened them to reveal I was standing in front of a massive cage. Within that cage was Miki. She was wrapped up in chains. Standing next to her was Hero. He was looking in our direction with a sad smile on his face.
Miki’s eyes opened. “Thank you for coming this far. I’m sorry for all the evil I have done. You might have come here with the hope of saving me. However, I do not want to be saved.”
“What are you saying?” I demanded.
She didn’t seem to see me. It was almost like this speech was on a recording. She had no awareness I was in the room with her. The real Miki was still imprisoned.
“I thought I could bring Master back if I became close enough to death. I’ve examined the souls of so many, and yet detect Master’s soul in the beyond. As time passes, the likelihood of saving him only drops. At this point, I must accept that I could not save him.”
“You foolish girl, you didn’t find me because I’m not dead,” I responded.
“I’ve brought you here because as one of Master’s women, I couldn’t stand if you became hurt too. I no longer have control of the monster I’ve become, and while I have rivers of blood on my hands, I couldn’t allow you to be one of them. That’s why I planned things this way. You will be sent out of this dungeon and spared, and I will meet the fate I deserve. I love you all, but I can no longer exist in a world without him.”
“Master!” Alysia warned.
The Hero lifted his blade as Miki lowered her head. He lifted it over her. I had been wrong. Miki didn’t design this lore to save herself. She designed it as her execution!