Stanrocc waves goodbye, as he walks away.
He doesn't seem to have a destination in mind.
Everything is just a game for him.
"Arstria... I'm sorry for what happened with her...
If I didn't get his attention."
"I don't want to talk about it.
Honestly, I hoped that it could last more.
But everything comes to an end.
Come meet me, where everything began."
With a faint smile, she walks away. Getting further and further.
I stand still, as time returns to my senses, I should get going already.
It is finally time, we shall meet on the Black Forest.
From the center of the city, to the Black Forest, by foot...
It should take quite a while, I can't see Arstria anymore.
She probably went flying with fire propulsion.
I feel anxious, I don't know what to expect.
As the city begins to decrease in size, the outskirts of it can be seen.
Not as developed, but still thriving.
Here, normal humans live their everyday lives.
Sometimes I wonder how that must feel.
My life has changed so much this past week.
People don't know about the danger they are in.
Three angels remain, and the ones supposed to protect humanity are thin in number.
Only I and Arstria remain.
Stanrocc does not seem concerned about the angels.
He could probably get rid of them all on his own.
There are also Cereja and Eleazar, but they are under him.
Stanrocc does not have any need for underlings, even so, he must have convinced them.
He must like having people under him. He has the aura of a commander and of a king after all.
He should care if the world ends, I mean, if he is on outer space, soon enough his lives will end.
As I leave the city behind, the road leading to my home begins.
The Dark Forest is actually a dead forest that surrounds my house, there are many talltales about it.
But as I lived there my entire life, there really isn't any reason to think it is dangerous.
I met Arstria five years ago there.
She met me by chance and invited me to play with her friends.
On that day, we fell on the Earth Dungeon.
We were able to defeat Quetzalcoatlus, the Angel of the Underworld.
Then... Something happened...
Arstria lost her life...
Was it to the angel? I don't remember.
Everything is so hazy...
My memories are lacking.
The forest lies ahead.
I walk to the place where we first met.
She is already there.
I try to speak, but I can't.
She is leaning onto a tree with her arms crossed.
Her face is filled with confusion.
But also with duty.
Her pink hair almost shines through the twilight.
It is already the end of the afternoon.
And night should start soon.
Orange light enters through the forest.
It is quite beautiful, the fallen trees and branches on the floor gives it the sense that Spring will soon end.
"Hello."
"Hi-"
Her expression shifts as she notices me.
A smile forms.
"Do you remember how we first met?"
"Right in this place, right?"
"Y-yeah! You were completely dirty, it almost looked like you were some kind of animal." - She laughs outloud.
I blush as I remember it too.
"H-Hey! My family didn't allow me to go outside.
So I ran from home... Got lost in the forest... For a few hours...
Fell in the mud, a bunch of times... It was raining...
I tried to return home, but I couldn't find it..."
She laughs more and more. The smile on her face.
It is true, she is a star.
"I needed that... Only you to make me laugh this much."
She starts walking, remaking the steps we once made.
"Then you threw water in me."
"I was surprised to see behind all that mud, there was a pretty girl."
"P-Pretty!?"
"Can't you notice how pretty you are?"
"I k-know... Not more than you though."
"That IS true."
She threw her hair backwards in a display of pride, and then blushes from embarrasment.
Her crimson eyes are like the evening sun.
We continue to walk in a slumbering silence.
The forest is left behind, we reach the ancient outskirts of the city.
Here, an old plaza can be found.
It is abandoned, children don't come here to play anymore.
"I used to play here a lot.
Due to how much I was known on the city.
My parents thought it better to bring me and my friends here every day."
"Really near my home. I wonder what would happen if I met you before."
"We could have become great friends, it could be great."
"I mean, falling on the Dungeon was also fun."
"Indeed, we spent around one month inside."
"Really? I thought it was just in one day."
"Somehow that might be true. I don't know, my memories are hazy."
"Mine are likely more...
I only remember the fight with the angel."
"Oh. I see.
I guess I could retell our tale."
"Sure..."
"First we fell onto a trap.
Fortunately, I'm able to decipher how to complete the puzzle.
But then we need the element of air."
"That was when I learned it in a few minutes and freed us!"
"Uh... Actually... You took a few days.
We were nearly starving when you finally awoke."
"I-I see..."
"We reached a small temple, where the head dwarf told us of the prophecy.
Twin heroes will save us from the King of the Underworld."
"Then... We journeyed, trial after trial."
"Adventure after adventure."
"When we reached the Underworld Castle."
"The attack of the mosasaurus, we decided to go our separate ways."
"Yeah... Everyone began to follow me!"
We enter the plaza, as we reach for the bandstand.
"I struggled against the angel, and my life nearly ended.
And then came you, awakening power after power.
The battle was incredible, as the Angel was finally defeated.
His reign of terror ended."
"Yeah! And then-"
We finish climbing the stairs.
"Do you remember what happened then?"
She looks at me, as she walks away.
Arstria died.
I... Who... What? Something happened.
And she died.
"I don't..."
"You... YOU KILLED ME!"
"..."
The words come out of her mouth.
And then slowly enter through my ears.
Is it true? It can't be.
Why would I.
"What-"
"When the angel died, a shrine appeared.
Only one could go through it, the first to touch it would be gone to another world."
"You wanted to go... Why?"
"Each angel carry one shrine, and only four will be able to go.
You're the one who defeated the angel, I could not do anything.
Surely you could get another shrine.
The truth is... This world will end.
The god from beyond will reach and devour this planet.
That was my best chance for survival."
"You could have stayed with me!
I was strong, I was able to defeat the angel...
Because of you! I can't do anything on my own.
Everything was for your own good!"
"No, Elewp.
That is not true."
"How can that be... I love you!"
"No, you don't.
You're incapable of love.
I know you. You are different from others."
"..."
"You hate everyone, don't you?"
"!!!"
"The reason why... People hurt you a lot, didn't they?
They betrayed you time and time again.
Which is why you have such a deep hatred for their kind."
"... That is true. I tried to forget...
But I was betrayed for people that I cared about.
Which is why I didn't want you to leave me too."
"You hate humans, but there is someone you hate even more.
Don't you? You hate yourself."
...
...
...
Why do I hurt people? It simply happen.
It is on my nature.
People that I got close with... With the slightest negative feeling... I attacked them.
That much is true.
I can't control what I feel... Everything is so intense.
If someone smiles at me... I can't help but fall in love.
If someone threatens me... I can't help but shake from fear.
If someone is different... I can't help but see them as lesser.
"That is your nature.
You may see it as a monster inside of you.
As a Black Serpent. But that is just the lies you tell yourself."
"You would leave me... I only tried to make you stay."
"No... As you never loved me, your hatred took control.
And you took my life.
But that is nothing for you.
You already took so many lives, didn't you?"
"The worst part... Is that I don't remember.
I'm able to clear my own memories. So everything was lost to dust.
I know I'm alive for many eras already."
"Then you're just like me.
I too lost my memories."
"What do you mean?"
"Once... I was a great man, something like a king.
I desired immortality. And I was able to obtain it.
Through reincarnation. My soul would find a new body and take over it."
"I see... You're really similar to me then..."
"Yes... That much is true. Our existences are fated to meet.
Unfortunately, fate is cruel. He didn't let me live eternally.
Rather, he tried his hardest to get rid of me.
Killing me over and over again."
"You mean like..."
"My soul got inside bodies that would soon be dead.
Someone who jumped of a skyscraper.
Someone who is soon to be hanged.
A fetus that is soon to be aborted."
"That is horrible!"
She lived through so much pain.
"How many years did you exist like that?!"
"I don't remember, my entire existence was pain.
Until someone saved me, and gave me a place in this world.
A hero, to save everyone."
"Ohhhh!"
"Finally, I was able to get a single life.
I could be a good person, finally!
If I died, I would return to the cycle of death.
And then..."
"Oh no."
"Your evil side took over your body...
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
And you killed me."
"Then... You were born again?"
"No... You crushed my soul.
Something not even fate was able to do.
You destroyed it completely.
I would not be reborn anymore, my existence would be deleted."
"Then how -"
"Actually, you do have a good side in you.
You were able to hold back, nearly 0.1% of my soul remained.
On my own I would have died.
Even if by a miracle, I could be reborn as something. That too would be the last time."
"But you're still here."
"That is true.
I was given a chance, just like the old man who saved me once, something saved me again."
"Then -"
"There is only a single problem... I'm not myself anymore.
I'm not Arstria... Anymore..."
...
"Something from beyond, a existence you could call a god.
From beyond this planet... It saved me.
One of the four thrones was empty, and it could only exist by rebirth."
"You mean..."
"Quetzalcoatlus: Angel of the Underworld..."
"Clione: Angel of the Abyss..."
"Seraph: Angel of the Paraiso..."
"And... Phoenix: Angel of the Inferno."
Wings made of fire sprout from her back.
Everything clicked at this moment.
When I first met her, she could only propulse with fire...
In the battle against the gryphon, to save me, she created wings of fire...
Clione... Called her sister...
She didn't get suspended for killing a student, she wasn't a student.
"When I planted that salamander on the building.
I surely was surprised to see you could get rid of it on your own."
"You betrayed humanity..."
"I'm glad you helped me get rid of Stanrocc's lackeys, they were mages on the way of my god's conquest.
Saphria was great too, always following my orders... And thanks to Stanrocc, she is taken care of too."
"Why... Did you talk to me... Why did you infiltrate the mages?"
"That is simple... I honestly wanted to know you better.
I like you, you're beautiful. I love beautiful things."
She touches my face, as my body feels the intense warmth.
"Before my cycles of death. I was evil.
I was a hero due to the one who saved me.
Of course I would come back to being the bad guy, as a evil god helped me now."
Even through everything... She still shines.
"I... Will-." - The words come out.
"No, no, no. You can't.
You're a hero, a star, you exist to be on my way.
Shikimi Elewp... Will you return to being evil and destroy humanity with me?"
"I... Just don't want to leave you alone."
"See? You don't love me.
You just hate being alone.
How many times have you fallen in love?
I'm just the current one.
If you really loved me...
You would know that I'm not Arstria."
"What-"
"I'm just a angel that took over her existence.
My only desire is to bring god here.
The other angels are dumb, so dumb."
"It can't be."
"If you want to help me...
Could you please stop being this clingy creature?"
Ugh-
Before I know it, she attacks me.
Her wings hit my body, sending me flying.
"I don't need Shikimi Elewp anymore.
Why bring in monsters that the mages can defeat?
There is a creature that can solely bring the end of a entire planet on its own."
I try to get up, I fell outside the bandstand.
"What are you talking about?"
"The Greater Evil.
I don't want to talk with you anymore.
Let me talk with the Black Serpent."
"Who-"
"Hello."
Before I know it, something is outside my body.
The fox tail that I once had is replaced by another tail.
A black tail.
Scales on it... It is more akin, to a snake.
Red crimson eyes, black as the night sky.
"So, why don't you take over?
I saw what you did on the dwarven planet.
You didn't stop until you exterminated everyone.
Only then could Elewp take control.
Go! Destroy this entire world, that is your nature, right?"
"That is true. But I will first kill you.
Then the other angels."
As if I was not important, the creature inside of me talks with the angel.
"Haha! That is alright.
My purpose of existence is to only bring chaos.
If you can do it better, you better as well devour me first."
"You heard her. Let me take control."
"NO!"
I can't allow that to happen.
"You won't kill her again!"
"You killed me already.
I'm just an angel."
"That is not true.
You're still the same Arstria.
I can still save you."
"See, she is dumb."
"Definitely a idiot."
"I remember everything.
You're the one who took my memories away.
You're the one who took my star away."
"Hi."
"I will defeat Arstria here and now.
I will beat this Phoenix until you give her body back."
"So shining, clearly a star on her own.
Then come."
I run towards her.
Wind, I shall call you.
As the rapier comes towards me, I prepare to vaccum the flame away.
"Ugh- Huh...?"
Two of my fingers fall to the floor.
My magic didn't work?
"Wind Slash!"
Nothing came out.
"This is unexpected. Why can't she do anything?"
"Didn't you think it was weird? A young girl with no training able to do magic on that scale?"
"And here I was envious for nothing! She is useless without you?"
Huh?
"Completely. Unable to do a single magic spell.
Elewp, stop with this charade, let me take control."
"Stop already!"
...
...
...
No...
"Stop..."
Arstria kicks me away.
I fall to the floor.
"So much for... "I'm strong because I need to protect you.
Magic is born out of emotions... You never loved me.
That creature only played with you."
"No... Kitsune Form!'
My form shifts, as I prepare to slash her wings.
"Is... This FOR REAL?"
Huh? Why is Arstria so big?
As I take notice, I took the form of a small fox... The size of a phenec.
"You're useless. Actually, at this point, I will love seeing you die."
"Just die already, then."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
They both laugh...
More and more...
As Arstria continues to attack me.
Tears start to come out...
I don't want this...
Please stop...
"Stop..."
I get up, as I prepare to run away.
"At this point, I want to see something more interesting."
She plucks one of the feathers on her wings.
Red as fire.
"You know what is interesting?
When a angel dies, the remaining ones become stronger.
Quetzalcoatlus is dead, and Clione is nearly death.
Which means I can summon a creature without having to wait, atleast a single time.
Let's see... From which planet this one will be from...
A creature that hunts foxes, not for food, but due to a intense feeling.
Is it hatred? You will soon see... Something beautiful."
The feather opens a rift in time and space.
As something comes out.
A giant creature... Fangs and claws, sharp enough to slice a human in half.
A dog-like monster... Markings all over its body where fire energy flows through.
"Come, Hellhound."
The portals opens wider, as many smaller versions of the hellhound pass through.
"I want her dead."
The creatures all turn towards me.
As if it was their extinct, their heartbeats become faster and faster.
They start to chase.
I need to go, now!
I run towards the forest.
"Arstria isn't following you.
Let me take care of them."
"No! You won't give the control back."
"Tch. She will see everything through the hellhound's eyes.
She don't care about you enough to see your ending."
As I talk more and more with the serpent, I recall that this is familiar.
It is following me for a long time already.
I likely only forgot about him due to Arstria's passing.
"Huff... Huff..."
The monsters continue to chase.
I need help, I can't do magic anymore.
Someone... Anyone...
Help me...
Words echo through my head.
Hikage, my butler, saying I just need to ask him for help.
My father should help me too.
Yes, that is true.
Just a little more and I reach my house.
Finally!
The mansion!
The hounds are still lost through the forest.
I have a few minutes at most.
I enter through the main gate.
The luxurious green garden.
The noble architecture.
The main mansion's gates open for me.
"Hikage! Help me!"
I look for the butler.
"Hikage! Hikage! Hikage!"
But he is nowhere to be seen.
What could he be doing? It's no use...
Then I need my father.
I know he is a strong mage, that much is true.
I climb the stairs and go to his research lab.
I open the door.
On the end, looking at a empty giant glass.
Fissured on it, he does not even notice me.
"Father!"
"Oh. Hello, Elewp."
Before I notice it, I give him a big hug.
Yes, he is my family.
I can always count on him.
"Do you remember this place?"
"You mean... Your lab?"
"This is where you were born."
"Did you do... The birth happened here?"
"I mean here."
He points to the giant glass.
"Nine Creations..."
Before I know it, eight more glasses appear all around us.
Four to each side.
Were they always there?
"Once... There was a man.
As a child, he had a dream.
To save humanity."
"That is your dream, isn't it?
I remember it a little."
"But as he grew, he abandoned it.
He would only find meaning in his life by meeting a goddess.
He fell in love, and finally understood the meaning of life.
But the goddess was cursed.
She could only have nine children.
On the birth of the ninth child, she died.
The man, lost again the meaning of his life.
And so, he decided to go back on his dream.
Humanity needed to be saved. And a god was the only way.
He gave a duty to his children. Become True God, and save humanity.
The second child, however, noticed something wrong with the ninth child.
And on a fateful day, killed their own younger sibling.
Devouring the body of the sibling.
The true purpose of the children was then established.
Only one would become True God, and to do that they would need to devour all eight others."
"What do you mean..."
"The second child, with a deep hunger.
Devoured the father too."
...
I could hear the hounds approaching the mansion.
"Father, stop this.
I need your help."
"Weren't you paying attention? Your father is dead."
"Huh?"
A lightning falls through the window.
My father's red eyes glimmer in the dark.
His black hair.
"Remember that illusion you once used?
That is also from me."
As I try to hold my father, my hand pass through him.
Wind, this is wind.
The entire lab start to vanish.
"Wait... No... These memories..."
I leave the lab, Hikage is on the living room.
"Hikage, I need your help, please."
"Didn't I tell you you... You just need to ask."
"Finally!"
"You just need to give me your body.
And everything will be fine."
He tries to hold my hand.
"I see."
I slap his hand away, as he turns into wind.
The house start to vanish more and more.
It is true.
"You gave me a home...
Why?"
The serpent talks deep within my conscience.
"Even if you don't want to admit it.
I am you. Of course you wanted a home.
Something you never truly had.
Before I knew it, I created a father, a mother.
Even a butler to be your friend."
"Just to take them all away?"
"Remember what she said.
You hate yourself.
I am your hatred.
I too want your pain, but also your good."
I see...
I don't even need to speak with you.
You're in my mind anyway.
The hellhounds finally enter through the house.
I need to get away from here.
I run, and run, and run, and run.
The road and the night sky.
The creatures continue to chase after me.
I reach the city, finally.
I can't ask anyone for help.
They can't do anything either.
I don't know where Stanrocc, Cereja or Eleazar are.
And they are threats all on their own.
It's true.
I'm alone.
"Just let me take control."
I can't.
You will hurt Arstria.
Only if you swear that you won't.
"Wanting to make a pact, I see.
I will love seeing you die without me."
I guess so, I guess I hate myself so much I rather die.
I run towards Magicae, I finally start to run out of energy.
A teacher... Maybe a teacher will help me.
Or the director.
The gates are closed, and the walls are high.
I need to get through them.
Magic, wind, anything. Let me jump, let me try to reach it.
Just this one time.
*Wind*
I'm able to jump, I will get through it-
Thud
"AArgh-"
I hit directly a forcefield enveloping the school.
I fall to the floor.
My entire body hurts as if I had fallen in a bed of thorns.
Each and every muscle fiber is strained to the limit.
The glucose in my blood is as low as it gets.
My vision hurts and blurs.
If I stay on the floor any longer I'm gonna faint.
Pulling myself up, I lean my back against the stone wall behind.
My breathes wane as if my world keeps spinning.
Before I notice it, my eyes are already closed.
So scared of what is to come, it is better to just close my eyes right?
My heart keeps accelerating because of the anxiety.
I can't even face my final moment without being a coward.
"If you don't do anything, this life ends here."
Inside of my darkness, a pair of beastly red eyes approaches.
"You thought you could repair everything. But it was too late.
She will never forgive you. And now it will come to an end."
The being approaches more and more. Crawling through the floor.
"The story is funny isn't it?
Once there was a fox that lived on the earth yet, she she dreamed of the sky.
The black dogs were certain to make her suffer every moment of her life
The hopeless fox by chance met the red eagle.
Different from the fox, the eagle was able to fly wherever she want with a smile in her face.
The fox tried to jump beside the eagle, and the eagle took notice.
Caring about the fox, the eagle gave the fox two wings made of wax.
The fox then, for the first time, could give farewell to the black dogs and fly through heaven.
The eagle always flew higher than the fox, and together, they lived a happy short life.
One day, trying to get closer to the eagle, the fox trained to fly more and more.
And finally, one day, she could fly side by side to the eagle.
But the truth was, the eagle took pity on the fox.
She never cared about the fox as a equal, just a lesser being.
The moment the fox reached the same height as the eagle would be the last day the fox would fly.
As the furious eagle turned into her true form, the infernal sun that scorches the earth.
The wax wings melted, and the fox fell.
The black dogs quickly took notice of it, and the fox had to flee from them again.
But the black dogs wouldn't lose their chance, they sacrificed everything so that the fox wouldn't be able to escape.
In a last resort, the fox tried to fly on her own, but the truth was that she is a earthly being, and she would never fly.
With no energy left, the fox leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes in front of her impending doom.
And in the darkness, the black serpent appeared before her."
It had already coiled all over my body, black scales that hides in the dark.
Red eyes that look directly into my soul.
The beast was so big it could swallow me whole.
"But there is no need to fret.
If you let me devour you I will kill every single black dog.
I will hunt the red eagle and rip both of her wings.
You know I can devour even the sun."
No! You can't do that...
Not again...
Let her fly, she was born to fly.
She don't need me weighting her down.
I don't feel anger towards her.
Actually, I'm grateful for the moments we lived together.
"Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak.
Stop lying to yourself.
You always envied her, stop with these thoughts.
Think about it. You always knew that you can only fly by devouring others."
I won't.
Not this time.
Atleast there is a silver lining to this.
If I'm falling on the abyss of death, I will be sure to bring you with me.
Inside my mindscape, with my frail arms I grab the snake's soul.
We will die together again this time.
"Insolent fool, you prefer to die than to kill.
Then die already."
The black serpents vanishes.
And I'm alone again.
If this is the end already...
I have a final wish.
With the last of my soul, my arm rises.
And my hand reaches for the sky.
I won't run again.
If everything will end here...
I want to see the blue sky one last time.
My eyes open.
HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Of course fate himself wouldn't allow me.
The sky is closed by endless gray clouds.
I think of something silly as I look upwards.
They say shooting stars can grant any wish.
Even beyond this clouded sky, there is a sky right?
And there could be a shooting star.
The chances are just slim.
Even so.
I wish upon the star.
Let me live.
The black beast attacks, with fiery fangs to rip my soul into shreds-
But before any evil reaches me, the shooting star defends.
The black beast is plunged away.
A monochrome view.
With black eyes as the darkness, but instead of fear, there is a sense of calm.
With white clothes that soon will be muddied with red, he stands firm.
He feels fear, but he don't back down.
Inside of him, it is not courage that fuels his action.
It is hope.
With swords in each hand, one blue and one white.
He defends againt the attacks of the black dogs.
I watch silently, as slowly each and every dog falls to the cold concrete floor.
As if in a dance of teeth, claws and steel, he moves perfectly.
Dodging and striking whenever necessary.
After finishing, he walks to me.
My hand that is still reaching for the sky is grabbed by his gentle hands.
As our lifes connect, my strength returns as I can stood again.
Still holding my hand, with a voice not used to speaking.
He asks something I was not expecting.
"Are you my reason?"