With a single slide of her icy sword, Ocelia cut apart the neck of the black puppet, causing the black substance to spew out and dirty her clothing. With the death of the last member of the group, the tensed atmosphere began to die down.
The soft impact echoed as the lifeless puppet collapsed onto the ground, disintegrating into black goo and forming a dark pool of liquid.
Forus rushed towards Ocelia without any regard for his injury, catching her before she dropped onto the floor. Although the leaking blood tainted Ocelia's appearance, she could not be more beautiful in his eyes. The crimson shades on her face enhanced her facial expression, giving a little colour for her pale face.
Forus also reached his limit, collapsing on the floor while hugging Ocelia, using his body as a shield to protect his love from dropping onto the ground. A gentle thump resounded the chamber as two figures laid onto the red carpet.
After the battle ended, the faint sound of violins and other musical instruments manifested within the hall, giving a soothing lullaby for the winners to listen while unwinding their mind, giving a mental massage through the songs that transcended the language barrier.
As Ocelia was resting with her eyes closed, her hair's colours fluctuated between red and blue, changing with her emotions and mental state. She subconsciously clutched onto Forus' robe as she slowly moved closer to him, grazing his cold body with her warm skin.
Every puff of warm air when Ocelia exhaled touched Forus' chest lightly, creating a tickling sensation. With every passing moment, Forus began to regret not having his eyes to witness the imaginary scene and the beauty of his wife. However, the thought of having her near him dispelled his disappointment and filled him with happiness.
Although he could not see her, he could sense the delicate figure, leaning onto his body as her breaths touched his skin. Although it would be good for him to stop time this instant and enjoy the moment, he could not and did not intend to do so.
Her well-being was his goal. Her happiness was his promise. For her, he traded his third chance at life to save her. His soul became the property of the devil for her survival. Although he was still alive, he knew that his sole existence was for her.
The couple continued to intertwine their body before Ocelia slowly shifted her sleeping posture as her mind became lucid. After resting for a while, the fatigue that grasped onto her soul began to dissipate away, allowing her to regain control over her body.
As she opened her eyes, the two bottomless abysses stared right back at her, seemingly trying to suck her soul away with each passing moment. The hallow pits remained unmoving as she reached out her hand towards them. A hint of sadness manifested every time she reminded herself of the pain and suffering of losing their vision.
Although the empty void on Forus' eye sockets was terrifying for others, Ocelia dearly wished for them to never disappear from her view. With her hand caressing the soft cheeks of her husband, she struggled to remain indifferent on her face. If she cried, she would make him worry, and she would not allow that to happen.
His pain was her pain. His happiness was her happiness. The sensation was there since the beginning and only continued to develop as time passed. When she realised about it, it had already blossomed into something majestic, awe-inspiring and eternal. Although she knew that it would inevitably lead her to her end, she could not stop it, and she did not intend to do so.
When Death gazed towards him, she would block it with her body, shield it with her soul, exchanged it with her life.
When danger from above came, she would block it with her hands. When death came, she would hold it with her body. If she died, she would do so with him in her arms.
"How long do you intend to sleep? Although I am by your side, this is still an ancient ruin." A hand extended towards her cheek and lightly pinched it, stretching her face. The subtle itchy sensation shocked Ocelia out of her zealous train of thought, causing her to moan as she attempted to brush away the hand.
Anger came and transformed into embarrassment as she heard her moan. She quickly stood up and walked towards the next Door of Hope while facing her back at him, hiding her expression from him. Although he could not see, she was so embarrassed that she could not meet him head-on.
"Forus, you jerk. Why did I even think about saving him?" Muttering under her breath, she continued to calm herself down before returning to her usual indifference expression. Although her face still had a hint of redness on it, Forus didn't have any way of perceiving it.
"All failed, yet two remained, and at the bottom of the abyss, they fought to eat each other." Without any intention for Forus to tease her more, Ocelia spoke the new line on the Door of Hope as she looked back, watching Forus as he fell into deep thought.
...
The figure stared deeply into the ancient pocket watch as she pondered in her mind. The time on the clock was only ten minutes before eleven, nearly reaching the next circle. However, the hands on the clock were slow, not moving at the constant rate and would even regress when extraordinary circumstances occurred.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Beside her were whirlwinds of distorted images, showing erratic visions of incomprehensible events, playing in random sequences and mixed with darkness and void in between. The space around her extended towards infinity, showing no bound and no change, eternal beyond mortality.
The loose purple cloak on her body moved with her posture, concealing her alluring figure while exposing her exalted disposition. The golden lines of ancient runes on her robe shone in delight as natural energy leaked out of them, enhancing her extreme beauty as well as showcasing her mystical power over sorcery.
Her long, azure hair flustered with her gesture, giving a little touch of cool breeze when it went past through her purple cloak, brightening the golden lines of runes as they lit themselves to greet their owner in her presence, filling the empty, dark void with ever-increasing golden comfort.
Her dull, dim purple eyes would occasionally flash in golden light as they took a long, reoccurring look at the watch, seemingly engulfed her soul in memory of the ancient time, reminding her of the one whom she treasured. Since so long, so far away, the days they spent together were heart-warming, full of happiness and life. Now, only she remained, old and tired.
Although she was powerful, and with one thought of her, she could undoubtedly move out of this place and travelled towards where her memory slumbered, she knew that it was not worth it. Only until the time was right, could she reunite with her treasured one.
"Just a little more, and you would be free. I'm sorry that I couldn't prevent it, but, I couldn't let you go." Thinking about that face, she felt sorrow surged as the urge to manifest in the real world magnified thousands of folds.
However, as soon as the urge rose, it died down immediately, diluting into black threads before diffusing into the void, becoming another facet of the eternal, unchanging landscape of infinity.
"Wounds echoed in time, closing its entrance yet leaving its marks. They represented the proof of your story, and with them, I shall forever recall the day you existed." Although she did not move her mouth, her remorse voice resounded from the deep void, filling the space with her remark, endlessly echoing each other, continuing from past, to present, then to the future.
The hand of forgiveness never reached her, for her mind rejected such haven of false promise. Only from that person, could she free herself from the misery.
...
"What do you have to say, Avidas?" Glacies frowned as he looked at his servant. Avidas had never said anything other than some superficial praises and boot-licking and always did as he commanded so he would not punish such a capable servant for something as insignificant like this. If it was any other servants, depending on his mood, he could go as far as directly sliced their neck open with his power.
"Young Master, although we didn't pass the test, it seems that our score is quite high that we each got something good. This servant knows that his master would also get to choose the good rewards if even this one gets them." Although the tone was still as respectful as ever, no one could notice the concealed experienced demeanour that Avidas intentionally displayed.
After knowing that none of the two was anything special, and was focusing on his obvious praises, Avidas began to speak after pausing for a moment, dictating the flow of the conversation smoothly without anyone noticing it.
"Although this servant had the choice to take the conventional prizes like the sorcery treasures, this one understood that it would be better to acquire a supporting item that could help his master. So, in the end, your slave chooses this scroll of knowledge." As soon as Avidas finished his speech, he pulled out a scroll, showing it to both Glacies and Abicel.
However, Avidas did not extend his hand outwards, but merely hovering in front of him, making Glacies and Abicel take their initiative and move closer to view its content.
Upon the closer inspection, Glacies could not conceal his smile and laughed out loud, feeling extremely pleased to himself before remembering that Abicel was right beside him. He stared at his servant profoundly before he returned his face to its former cold expression.
"Good, very good! Avidas, when we get back, I shall personally reward you." Seeing that Abicel did not say anything to obstruct his thought, he said a few words to his servant, promising some superficial benefits before committing all of the detail within the scroll to his mind.
Although the information within the scroll was very elementary and irrelevant, there were clues to many secrets of the Fleeting Emotions Ruin, hiding within plain sight. If Glacies could deduce the puzzle, he could potentially know everything about this training ground.
If he knew about how to enter and exit this place at will, he would surely soar towards the peak with the help of the training ground, getting all of the exceptional rewards and clearing the different realms of their resource, becoming wealthy and powerful in an instant.
Looking at Abicel, Glacies shook his head internally and dropped the killing intent that emerged within his mind. If he could think about this, she would too, considering her powerset and rational mind, she would not easily fall if he tried to eliminate her to silence the witness. Instead, by using the secret, he could become as her partner to help each other in controlling the secret and clearing the realms.
After experiencing the difficulty of the realm, as well as the ability that Abicel could use, he certainly wanted to gain her as an ally. If he was alone, there was no way to ensure that he could pass the test alive and uninjured. However, if there was someone to stand by his side to support him, he could drastically lower the chance of dying within one of the harder realms with regret and grievance.
Looking into each other's eyes, two smart people came into a tactical understanding, nodding at each other before shifting their attention at the last person within the group.
"Mister Glacies, we ought to take a closer look at the scroll for further inspection." Abicel also had the same thought as Glacies. With the Ninguis Family backing him, she would have a hard time escaping if she ever tried to kill the young master.
"Young master, Miss Abicel, don't worry. This one will be the one who preserves the scroll. Your servant swears to never lose it, even if it would cost this one's his life!" With absolute royalty, Avidas offered himself to carry the scroll to impress his young master.
Hearing such words, Glacies and Abicel nodded at each other before smiling. They could not trust each other enough to let any one of them carried the scroll. After all, if they escaped, thee would be no salvation to the other.
Although they intended to finish off Avidas to protect the secret, letting him live for a little while would not hurt them. After they exhausted his potential, it would be the time to silence the last witness.