‘Mila’ opened her eyes. Or at least, her body did. The being now in control of the girl looked at the bleeding corpse in front of her. The leathery, time-ravaged man had not died peacefully. His wide-open, dusk-filled eyes showed the surprise he had felt when the dagger had reached him.

It had been so long since the being had seen anything using actual eyes. ‘Mila’s’ fingers twitched as the being ran a diagnosis on what the body’s condition was.

There were issues. Not only was the body different to what the being once was. It was also inconvenient and weak. And damaged. Mila’s struggles had not been kind to her state.

Mila did not have the convenient shield that produced a barrier Isabel had. That girl was relatively safe.

Isabel had tried to guard Mila as well. But despite the efforts, the tinier girl had chosen to strike down one of the enemies and return some of the power to the being inside her.

It was the correct choice, but, in the end, for her bravery, Mila had to bear the brunt of the otherworldly ruination with just her body.

Most everything had suffered at least some damage. The vision was blurry, the hearing was damaged, the body ached and hurt, and there were issues with keeping balance, not to mention the internal bleeding.

The Being did Its best to heal Mila, concentrating on mending everything that could result in permanent disability.

The body was unsuited to kill the abomination that had broken into this world. Despite the Being's best efforts to train and teach Mila, she lacked too much. But it could not be helped.

After all, the very fact that It had to delve inside the girl’s body had been a plague on her, draining Mila’s precious energy and health to simply preserve the vague awareness of the world.

There wasn’t enough mana back on the Earth to do much more. The being had been drifting along, barely existing and almost entirely void of any thoughts.

And Mila had suffered for it. The dreams the girl had endured were just memories that seeped from It to her.

The being could not choose which dream the girl would find herself in. It was uncontrollable. There was barely enough control to spare her from some of the worst those dreams had to offer.

Yet, Mila’s mind was tormented nevertheless by the atrocities the Being bore inside. It was aware of how much sanity the girl had sacrificed. The being didn’t want her to suffer more. It had ceased to give those dreams to her for the most part.

And yet, the Being had thrown Mila back into one of the harrowing experiences just days ago. It hadn’t been apparent to it at first, but the girl… She had grown too ruthless and didn’t value life the way it should be.

Killing was fine. But there should be more than consideration of pros and cons when taking a life. And Mila was capable of recognising it. She just needed time to adapt.

And back in the previous world, these things had not mattered. The being had settled to exist inside Mila for the rest of her life. It couldn’t leave, so the girl had to suffer.

Until it had been awoken by Mila touching part of who it once was. On this world, it would have happened in time, as this world had enough mana to slowly regain its strength. But finding the memory had helped. It had returned some of Its long-lost glory. Just a sliver, but enough for conscious thought.

And now, Mila had found another piece. More power had been returned. Still nothing in the grand scheme of things, but enough for tonight.

Enough as this ‘Silinth’ had done much to temporarily free the Being from the shackles that had been imposed upon It.

Whoever was in the man had fried reality and hidden the surroundings from the eyes of the gods. The Being could not allow them to feel Its awakening. They could not know It could walk this land once again, even if only as a tag-along for a girl.

And as the Being rose on Mila’s feet and gazed upon Silinth’s broken figure, more questions rose to the forefront of Its mind.

The Being did not understand how the monster had gotten here. It didn’t know what it was. When The Being was alive, this horrific creature did not exist. It was a puzzle of where it could have come from.

One thing was clear, though. It had to die. If it couldn’t, it had to be removed.

Silinth’s body stood in front of Isabel’s barrier, studying it with interest. His limbs were twisted and gnarled, bearing more resemblance to tree branches than arms and legs. The body was not covered in clothes and instead was tainted by marred flesh resembling bark. But the face was the same, except for the eyes, which were crystalline and pure, resembling glass.

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Isabel herself was covering, pressing her ears shut and eyes closed. She was on her knees, barely conscious. The barrier protecting her flashed as mana seeped out of it, weakening it slowly.

There was a strange quality to the protection the girl had. It kept out everything harmful. Even the horror’s frying presence, albeit barely and if Isabel didn’t acknowledge it. Luckily, she was following Mila’s instructions closely.

‘Silinth’ head turned back to face The being without the body moving. It was a harrowing sight. “Children of destiny are troublesome.” It stated. “But you are not one. You are not affected by my presence.” There was a tinge of curiosity in Its voice. “What are you?”

“It is not what.” The being spoke with Mila’s mouth. “It is who. And I have the same question. What are you?”

‘Silinth’ beared his teeth. The surrounding world seemed to undulate and distort. “Corruption.” It dispassionately stated.

The being doubted that was a real name. But maybe the horror did not have one. And even this false name elected fear of an unknown power that peered through time and space.

“And I am Aaers.” Mila’s hands reached inside her ruined cloak and pulled out the prepared dagger. Aaers did not believe the poison or any weapon could kill what inhabited Silith, but the body was another thing altogether. It had shifted and warped, but it was still flesh.

That said, Aaers was here for just one thing. Getting rid of the Horror. Once It was gone, the rest would be in Mila’s hands.

Corruption seemed to consider Aaers’s words. The time seemed to lose meaning as it stretched while the horror thought. “I do not know of Aaers. What are you?” It repeated.

It was a difficult question to answer. Currently, Aaers was just a fragment. An incomplete memory of…

Aaers looked down at the petite body and chuckled. It was a strange joke that fate had played for him to wake up in a girl’s body.

And was there value in answering the horror’s question? There was a faint wish to speak of what once was, to have someone know of his life. Aaers was sad his legacy had been wiped out and removed from the minds of people.

But the time spent talking increased the burden on Mila’s body. Even with him healing, they were on a time limit. Aaers owed the girl too much to allow anything irreversible to happen to her.

And as for the legacy Aaers had left…

Saying it was gone may not be strictly true. After all, there were traces of what once was on Silinth’s body. Aaers had felt it from time to time - distant and with changed meaning, but still there after all these years.

The Gods had tried their best to cleanse the world of what they had done. How they had lived. It was… heartbreaking.

And now, Aaers was forbidden to exist, just like Corruption was. They were pushed away by the very fabric of existence. Just their names were enough to punish those who heard them. The simple knowledge of them was damaging. Just thinking of them was a risk not worth taking.

Just knowing they existed ate at the bearer of the information. That’s how much they were hated.

But Corruption held gods at bay. The horror shielded Aaers as well as itself.

And it allowed Aaers to act. There was not much he could do, but the same was true for the horror. They both were limited by the shackles that were the world and the bodies they inhabited.

And while Aaers had spent the moment thinking of the sad state the world was in, he had not stopped moving Mila’s body.

Neither had Corruption. Its changed body twisted and turned until it faced Aaers.

Mila’s body was too weak. She lacked so much. The potential for her to grow was there, but the time for her to fulfil it was yet to come.

So, Aaers had to rely on what he had. And sadly, it wasn’t much. As he gathered the potential he held, Corruption took the final step to stand before Mila’s body.

The horrid creature loomed above the girl, its changed limbs stretching to embrace its opponent into a deadly hug.

Some part of Aaers had expected a stench to come from the disgusting life form, but there was none. But now that Corruption was closer, he saw how the body was still shifting and changing, growing more monstrous and alien.

It had to stop. Aaers tapped deep into what made him real. The very thing that had once been his downfall was still there, ever-present and inseparable from what he was.

Using it would weaken Aaers once more. Mila would have to continue her struggle with the barest hint of his help.

But Aaers knew that there were more parts of him out there. Now that he was composed of three, it was only a question of time before he recovered. And in the meantime, Mila could seek out the rest of him.

And furthermore. Aaers mind wandered. He had avoided thinking about it, fearing his emotions would run rampant, but…

What had happened to ‘Her’?

Aaers needed to know. Depending on the answer, he might consider continuing what he had once started. He suspected Mila would understand. She, too, was run by emotions deep down in her little stone heart.

Corruption was now upon him. Aaers looked into the glassy eyes and smiled. This attack was special.

This enemy would learn to fear it.

And the next moment, Corruption was gone - just like that. Mila’s eyes could not have captured even a glimpse of the attack Aaers had performed.

Aaers didn’t know if it was dead. It had been just a part of a bigger whole.

But that had been all Aaers could do. As he returned to Mila’s sea of consciousness, he saw a maddened light return in Silinth’s eyes.

The rest was for the vicious little girl to deal with.