Chapter 697: A Change in Perspective

Chapter 697: A Change in Perspective

Narrator: Back to Sasha right after she defeated The Titan.

Sasha ends her True Demonic Release form and looks at the barely conscious Madeena.

Sasha: (Speaking calmly) “It’s over, Madeena. Please try to listen to reason now.”

Madeena opens her eyes more but does not stand up.

Madeena: (Speaking in a nervous and defeated tone) “It’s o-over for me. I f-failed at my one and only chance to have a purpose in life. I’m pathetic. I’m useless. I’m a waste of space.”

Sasha just looks at Madeena with pity as Madeena continues her depressed rambling.

Madeena: “I had nothing going for me for my whole life so far.”

Madeena’s eyes begin to tear up as her depressed rambling continues.

Madeena: “All I’ve ever had in my pointless life are these stupid blue eyes that turn me into a mostly unintelligible giant stone monster that’s hard to control. Why did it have to be me? Why was I born to have a horrible life? All I want… All I really want is for someone to be proud of me.”

Sasha walks up to Madeena and holds out her right hand.

Sasha: (Speaking with a comforting tone) “Come with me and you will get that. I promise.”

Madeena opens her eyes wider as she looks up at Sasha, who is leaning forward while holding out her hand.

Madeena: “But… Ronzic…”

Sasha: “You don’t need him anymore. He is not the person to lead you to happiness. Now, please, take my hand.”

Madeena slowly starts to raise her left hand up toward Sasha’s right hand. Sasha smiles as she awaits Madeena’s hand. After a few moments, Madeena grabs a hold of Sasha’s hand and ends her tears.

Sasha: “That’s good. Let’s get you back on your feet.”

Sasha pulls Madeena’s hand up to help her slowly get back on her feet.

Madeena averts eye contact while showing a look on her face that resembles a combination of guilt and sadness.

Madeena: “Why did you spare me? I tried to kill you. You could have killed me. You should have killed me. Look at you… You have significant wounds all over your body. Why go so far for me after what I did?”

Sasha closes her eyes for a moment while smiling. She opens her eyes again and then responds.

Sasha: (Speaking warmly) “It’s because you remind me of ‘her’.”

Madeena stops averting eye contact and finally looks Sasha in the eyes.

Madeena: “‘Her’? Who is that?”

Sasha: “The mortal side of me.”

Madeena looks at Sasha with her mouth agape, truly perplexed by her words.

Madeena: “Your mortal side? You look like a normal dark divine being to me.”

Sasha giggles for a few moments before responding.

Sasha: “Believe it or not, my father was a mortal. Though, he was also the scum of the Earth. An irredeemable piece of garbage. But for a time, my mother had me live among mortals with my dark powers sealed so my eyes were white instead of black which was also when my mortal side was out. You remind me of her. She was unsure of herself and always wanted to prove to her friends that she was useful, especially in battle.”

Madeena: “So, what became of your mortal side? Your dark powers are no longer sealed.”

Sasha: “She still lived within me for a time…”

Sasha has a flashback to her climactic battle against her older sister, Hamura, who revealed the truth to her and told her to rid herself of her mortal side forever. She thinks back to her sister’s exact words.

(Flashback)

Hamura: “Yes, that mortal side that you were using before you broke the lock on your dark powers. The side of you that didn’t even have Dark Divine Eyes. The side of you that wasn’t that strong and could even lack confidence or was scared. She is the one keeping you from accepting your demonic side.”

Hamura starts raising her voice.

Hamura: “You never have been and never will be mortal! So throw away that fake mortal side forever! Don’t ever be ashamed of who you truly are! Your true self is one that should be loved and cherished! Not something that should be considered a horrid curse!”

(End Flashback)

Sasha: “…However, she’s gone now. I accepted my true self.”

Madeena: “I see…”

Sasha: “Anyway, you need to give up on Ronzic. Have you truly looked at how he rules? He is ruthless and enslaves all of the light divine beings. He doesn’t treat them well either. Even the slightest bit of faltering in their work and he will have them punished. You don’t need someone like that to give you purpose.

Madeena nervously looks down at the palms of her hands.

Madeena: “…I always… just looked them as hard workers. Like we were all one big team working to accomplish a goal…”

Sasha: “That is unfortunately not the case. In fact, I bet he doesn’t care about you either. He probably just sees your power as a way to gain power from the pyramid. Though, I’m not sure what the connection is yet.”

Madeena: “Could that really be…?”

Sasha: “Let’s head for the pyramid. We’re going to find out how Ronzic truly feels about you.”

Madeena answers nervously.

Madeena: “O-okay.”

***

Narrator: A bit later, inside the pyramid.

With Laura and Biff by his side, Ronzic looks down at the heroes with confidence.

Ronzic: “Now, that my friends are here, you’re finished.”

Zeth has a flashback to Ronzic’s broadcast earlier.

(Flashback)

Ronzic: “But it is now that I must announce that we will be rushing Project Sputnik to completion. As a result, not all of you will be able to come aboard. Some of you will have to stay here.”

(End Flashback)

Zeth: “I have a question for you.”

Ronzic raises an eyebrow.

Ronzic: “And what would that be?”

Zeth: (Speaking with a stern tone) “Just what exactly do all of your followers mean to you? Your broadcast earlier made it seem like you are okay with leaving them all behind. You come off as someone who cares about all dark divine beings, but instead, they’re all just disposable to you.”

Zeth’s words create complete silence in the room as Ronzic’s hypocrisy comes to light. Even Ronzic himself cannot bring himself to answer at first. He just continues to stare down at Zeth.

After a few more moments, Ronzic finally answers.

Ronzic: “Fine. You want the truth? Well, here it is. Only Laura and Biff matter to me. They are my closest friends. The other dark divine beings are all better than the light trash but I am willing to sacrifice all of them as long as these two and I make it off this planet.

Suddenly, Sasha’s voice can be heard from the room’s entrance.

Sasha: “See? I knew it.”

Sasha and Madeena walk into the room. Madeena’s face reveals her feelings of betrayal at Ronzic’s words.

Madeena: “That’s how you truly view us?”

Madeena then looks at Sasha.

Madeena: “I’m sorry for everything. I should have listened to you from the start.”

Sasha looks up at Ronzic, Laura, and Biff with a serious expression.

Sasha: “You three are terrible people!”

Sasha’s words appear to strike a nerve with Laura as she grits her teeth before responding.

Laura: “To think we had high hopes for you…” (Now screaming) “You don’t know a damn thing about us! You haven’t heard the full story!”

Narrator: The stage is set for the final climactic battle of the arc! However, it appears more backstory is incoming. Just what is about to be revealed?

Chapter 697 END

To be Continued in Chapter 698: The Story of Ronzic’s Fall into Madness Part 1 – The Cracking Moment