Chapter 15: "The Liar’s Embrace"

The reddish sky began to swallow everything around me, until any trace of where I was disappeared, except for the stench—that was overwhelming. In the distance, I heard a female voice call my name.

Is it Zera? No, it fills me with nostalgia. It’s a voice I heard a long time ago…

Ahead, the mist swirled and twisted upon itself, as if devouring something violently. It convulsed while shifting between different shades of red and black.

The calls continued.

I still don’t recognize who it is, but I can’t help feeling enraged—it’s like a poison burning through my insides.

Then, behind the veil, she appeared: Zenith. Her long, straight hair of radiant lilac cascaded down her back, giving her an ethereal aura. She wore a white robe that revealed part of her shoulders and chest, adorned with golden bracelets and ornaments.

Seated upon the harmonic curve of a golden harp, she looked at me with superiority, unable to suppress a chuckle. She did it with malice, as though enjoying a performance no one else would ever appreciate.

Damn you, I want to tear your head off. If Lumen died, so can you.

I gripped the hilt of my sword and, without wasting another moment, hurled myself at her in fury. Yet the instant I unsheathed it—I could no longer move.

“Is this how you welcome the one who has given you everything?” said Zenith, extending her hand: her will controlled my movements. “It is bold of you to think you can oppose me.” Then, she clenched her fist, shattering both my legs.

She spoke with the certainty of someone who knows herself untouchable, soaking every word in mockery. As her lips moved, the Ruby of Supreme Will on her forehead gleamed.

If I could tear away that haughty smirk, I would finally have peace for the first time in years.

“Do not think I cannot kill you. First I will destroy what you have built: Aurethys, the Order of the Undefeated Sun, and finally, I will rip you to shreds.”

How? I can’t even stand up—I feel utterly useless. After all these years… she’s here… and I can do nothing? Where is my sword, where is Zera? Right now, I’m completely at her mercy.

“Do you even know how to end me? No immeasurable power compares to mine, foolish child.” She rose from the harp and began walking toward me, arrogant, as though I posed not the slightest threat.

Lying on the floor, my breath came in gasps as she drew closer, walking with the delicacy of a butterfly.

Is this fear? No—it was supposed to be the other way around, that the next time we met, I would be the one to instill terror in her.

Zenith kicked my stomach with a firm strike: a sharp pain shot through me. Without giving me a breath, she pressed her foot against my face, crushing me into the ground.

“How pathetic—you’re not even worthy of bowing before me.” she said with a sweet tone, like someone consoling a broken animal.

To her, I am nothing but an insect. No, less than that. How I despise it—she thinks she has everything, can do everything, that she is everything.

Desperate, I tried to grab her leg and lift myself up: she moved her hand ever so slightly and her will twisted my arm. A fresh, stabbing pain cracked through my spirit.

Touching her is beyond my reach, let alone hurting her.

She slithered around me like a snake and materialized behind me.

I am miserable, powerless. Will my story end like this—lying on the floor, listening to her boast about being greater than me?

“Your hatred toward me is baseless, your mission meaningless. Thanks to me you were reincarnated in this world. I am your mother, your guardian angel—I gave you a second chance even after you betrayed those who helped you in your past life.”

Don’t believe her—you owe her nothing. Who asked you to make me reincarnate? Who told you this second life was a gift to me? Who told you I didn’t want to bury my sins with death?

She invaded me again, this time caressing my chin. Having her so close made my blood boil.

When I wandered alone through Aurethys, the Eternal Whisper had advised me to ignore the Immutable Matriarch—that she would seek to confuse me.

“I am kindness incarnate, your greatest miracle. Since the day you were born, I sheltered you in my bosom, showered you with luxuries and riches, gave you a privileged life… and this is how you repay me?”

“You are not ‘kindness incarnate.’ Zera is. She showed me what it means to care for others, even to risk one’s life for them. You are not even close—you don’t have a shred of what it takes to be like her.” I replied, glaring at her.

You inflicted a thousand and one tortures upon me, experimented with my body to create the perfect soldier. You isolated me from the world, in a dark chamber, and used me as a toy. I will never forgive you.

"The same thing you did in your past life, you’re doing again in this one: you distort reality. Have you never wondered why you think everyone betrayed you? You believe your friends abandoned you, that I’m the villain of the tale? Are you sure of that?"

Turning her back to me, she used her will to swirl the mist around, playing with it.

To her, I am nothing more than a game, a nobody.

"Don’t you think the real problem lies within you? You are the true traitor, but you refuse to admit it," Zenith continued, moving her fingers as though manipulating the strings of a puppet. "You’ve spent your life running away from the crimes you committed."

I am not the villain of this story. Though few may believe it, I am the hero.

"When I entrusted you with recovering the Feather of the Late Beginning, you killed your supervisor and fled," she explained.

You´re lying, I killed no one.

"Later, at some point, you encountered The Eternal Whisper, and he seduced you into letting him become part of your body." I trembled on the floor, unable to control myself. I wanted her to stop, to fall silent.

Lies, I met him afterwards.

"And finally, you returned to the Cathedral of Perpetual Order. You made us believe you were repentant, confused, and so we let you in. Once inside, you freed him and he tried to kill me. What did he promise you in return for that? Riches? Power?"

You´re lying, I need neither power nor riches.

"Or is it because… he promised to return you to your world?" The tone of her voice sickened me, and her words were suffocating poison.

Stop, please. Shut up, shut up once and for all! Why would I ever want to go back there? You lie, you are a liar. You lie!

"That is why everyone in Aurethys hates you, why you are a fugitive, why no one would ever shed a tear for you—because you betrayed your Goddess, the Order that took you in. And even in your world, you did the same."

With a gesture of her hands, she shattered my ribcage.

"You lie, you do it to maintain your facade of a perfect Goddess. I know your true face," I said, spitting blood. "The sentinel showed me what it means to be a true Goddess, one who inspires in her believers a faith so powerful they dedicate their lives to her for millennia."

"If you don’t believe me, you can ask your friend: he is still alive."

My mind split in two, I felt an immense pressure in my forehead, about to burst.

How could he have survived? It’s impossible. My world… died with him.

Memories and confusion crushed my consciousness, dragging me into a dimension of grief and pleas.

She sat beside me and, with her will, forced me to lie on her lap, stroking my hair with maternal tenderness. Then she seized me by the neck and pressed her forehead against mine, bringing me into direct contact with the ruby.

After that, her radiance burned my skin, branding me with The Wound of Consummated Penance, a scar that would not fade until I fulfilled my Punishment.

"Therefore, I have come to offer you a return to Aurethys. In exchange for what remains of your soul, I will send you back to your world, so you may confess your sins and be redeemed."

Return… to my world? It is tempting…

Energy drained from my body, my eyes closed on their own, and breathing was agony: soon I would draw my last breath.

I let myself be carried away by the sweetness of her words, by the melancholy of my past life, and by the hope that Milo might still be alive.

"Close your eyes, give me your destiny. Imagine it—your old life. You’ll be able to leave behind what you lived here. You’ll have Milo at your side, you’ll reunite with your family: that is what you desire, isn’t it?" she said, absorbing me.

When my soul was about to dissolve into the abyss, a thunderous crash jolted me out of my lethargy. I opened my eyes: many arms had burst from the ground and tore Zenith apart in an instant.

Her head did not detach from her body because it was still connected to her spine. Other than that, it was a massacre.

I felt relief at seeing Zenith dead, but at the same time fear. What kind of being could inflict such overwhelming destruction?

These arms… seven pairs. I know them—it’s Lumen!

She didn’t materialize other parts of her body, but her Radiance did, shattering the red sky and the surrounding mist. That’s when I opened my eyes. The lagoon was pulling me into its depths.

It’s not the lagoon, it’s hands—thousands of hands.

I drew my sword underwater and cut the arms around me. With great effort, I managed to reach the shore. The treetop, the red sky, the clouds below.

What happened? Did I return to reality? Was Zenith really here? Was what I saw real?

Swirling at my feet were small blue bodies melting into each other, forming a repulsive, slimy amalgam.

“Surrender yourself” “Come with us us” “Please” “Free us” “Dad? Mom?” “Perish”

“Kill yourself” “We beg you” “Abandon this world” “Do not hurt us” “Save me” “Then we will be free” “We want to live” “Help!” “I´m beggin you” “Do it for once”

Are… these the children who disappeared? It can’t be! What are they doing here!? But more importantly, where is Zera?

In the center of the lagoon, with the water reaching her waist, Zera desperately held onto two shadows: her parents, who were sinking with her.