Chapter 16: Sadness of Aura

Kael struggled, trying to free himself from the chair he was bound to. But the more he fought, the tighter the ropes clamped around his wrists.

The room was darker than before, making it nearly impossible to see his surroundings. The only sound echoing through the gloom was a faint, weeping sob that seemed to come from nowhere.

"Hey!" he groaned aloud, his voice reverberating off the walls. "Aura? You’re here, right? If you are, just come out!"

The moment he spoke Aura’s name, the sobbing stopped.

For a few agonizing seconds, there was nothing but complete silence. Then, a soft, trembling voice whispered from the darkness.

"You... You can hear me?" Her voice broke as she asked.

"Yes, I can... and I have a pretty good idea of who you are," Kael replied. "You're the sad version of Aura, right? Anxious told me about how Aura was divided into five personae."

Slowly, the lights flickered on. Kael could now see clearly that while the room was messy, it was the same space he recognized from before. As he looked around, a thick black mist coalesced in front of him. Out of the fog emerged a girl with silver hair, wearing a torn, stained white dress.

When she lifted her face to look at him, Kael froze.

Her eyes were red and swollen from constant crying, and unlike the other versions of Aura, she looked visibly frail and thin. Her lips trembled as she spoke.

"You... You met Anxious? You can see her, too?"

"Yes, I met her before. In fact, I've met Joy, Caution, and Anxious... except for the Angry one. You’re the fourth persona I’ve encountered."

Hearing that, she stiffened, her tear-filled eyes wide with shock. But Kael had no time to waste. Driven by urgency, he raised his voice in desperation.

"I know you’re confused, but I have to go! Milian is in danger! If I don’t get back, she might be..."

"Milian?"

"Yes, she's with me in the real world! A shadow creature attacked us, and as I rushed to grab the knife, I somehow ended up here..."

"The knife...?" Aura’s voice strained. "You ended up here because of the knife?"

"Yes! That’s why I'm telling you, let me—"

Aura’s expression shifted dramatically as tension overtook her. Walking up to him, she cupped his face with both hands and stared directly into his eyes.

"What are you—"

"She chose you..." she whispered.

"Chosen me? Who chose me, and what are you babbling about?"

"The Angry one..."

A cold chill ran down Kael's spine. "You mean... Angry Aura?"

The girl flinched at the name, shrinking back into herself. "Don't... don't say her name. She might hear. She always hears."

"Please," Kael said, softening his tone. "I don't understand what's happening. I need you to help me make sense of this."

She searched his face for a moment. Then, slowly, she sat back on her heels and wrapped her arms around herself.

"All I know is... she finds you intriguing."

Meanwhile, inside the cave, multiple shadows materialized from the ground, surging forward to surround the unconscious Kael and a heavily panting Milian. She wiped the sweat from her brow as her breath came in rapid gasps. No matter what spells she cast, the dark entities simply absorbed her magic.

"Hahh... Hahh..."

Milian scanned the cave for an escape route, but there was nowhere to run. The tension drained from her body, and her arms dropped limply to the stone floor. Blood dripped steadily from a gash on her forehead. She looked over at Kael, who still lay there looking strangely peaceful.

I'm sorry, Brother Kael... But this is it. You were right about letting the Crown handle this. My stubbornness about protecting Sir Rudoff made everything worse, and now I've dragged you down with me.

I'm so sorry... for leading you here.

The shadows crept closer. Milian closed her eyes, reaching out to grasp Kael’s hand just as a twitch movement passed through his fingers.

"Huh?"

She opened her eyes, watching in bewilderment as the knife shifted within his grip.

"What is happening?" she muttered to herself.

With a sharp jolt, Kael’s eyes snapped open—glowing a vivid, dangerous crimson. Releasing Milian’s hand, he slowly pushed himself up. He stood with his head low, dark bangs shadowing his face, before finally tilting his head back to reveal a sharp, terrifying grin.

"Ahhhh... so much to eat now... Hehe, thanks for the food," a eerie, overlapping blend of his voice and a girl’s voice spilled from his lips, just like the other times he had been possessed.

In a flash, Kael dashed forward, driving the blade straight into one of the shadows as its dark arms clawed into his torso.

"Brother Kael, no! If they touch you, they'll drain your life force! You need to—"

"Hehe..." Kael giggled.

A pulse of purple light burst beneath the creature. Something violent was happening to the shadow inside. It released him with a agonized growl, but Kael slammed it back onto the ground, sinking the knife deeper into its stomach. Within seconds, the shadow detonated in a flash of light, its remnants sucked directly into the blade.

Kael straightened up, tilting his head slightly as his voice dropped into an icy, pitch-black tone.

"Now... who's next?"

Back at the threshold, Kael's mind raced.

"She’s interested in me? Why? I didn't even know any of you existed until I first arrived here!"

"I... I don’t have an answer for that," Sad Aura whimpered. "Out of the five of us, she was the youngest persona to emerge near the end."

"Near the end...? Wait. I saw a fragment of your past when I first met Joy. I saw people trying to drown you... was that..."

"Yes..." she whispered. "That is one of our memories. Back when Aura was alive... people called her 'The Cursed Witch.'"

"A Cursed Witch?" Kael’s eyes widened with curiosity. "Why would they—"

THUMP... THUMP!

"Augh—!"

Kael’s heart suddenly hammered wildly against his ribs. A searing agony flared in his chest, making him cry out in pain.

"Aughhh... What the hell... is happening?!" He ground his teeth as he glared at the sad version of Aura.

"She possessed you!" Sad Aura panicked, her voice breaking. "You must be in severe danger back in your world—the threat was so bad that she materialized herself in your body to protect your vessel!"

"Wait! I don't understand what you're... aughhh!"

Tears welled in Sad Aura’s eyes as she watched him writhe in agony. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! It's my fault... I think she heard everything we said, and now she’s forcing your presence here to die!"

"Die... here...?"

Cough!

Blood sprayed from Kael's lips as his vision dissolved into darkness. The overwhelming pain crushed his senses, and the last thing he heard before everything shattered was the sound of her panicking cries.

Suddenly, his spirit body burst into tiny fragments, painting the wooden room in a gruesome shade of crimson. Blood splashed across Sad Aura’s face. She stared at her red-tainted hands, collapsing onto her knees.

Sniff...

Sob...

With a final quiet tear, she vanished back into the dark mist, leaving the room completely empty.