14 years after Van's departure...
"Are you... Sure this is what you want, Esteed Bishop?" The hooded individual murmured, gulping. His heartbeat thundering in his ears. He was unable to et the Bishop's eyes.
"...." The Bishop did not respond. She rely looked up to the ceiling blankly.
"... You... You will lose your SOUL!" He reminded, "I know I've said it, but... This is serious...!! Especially for soone like you! You WILL lose your divine powers from the Goddess! Not only that, you will be deed a heretic if anyone found out... And... You will no longer be in any God's grace. You might get cursed..! Since you've lived your whole life in Her grace, there's no way of telling what—"
"Erson." She cut him off calmly, yet firmly.
"..." He swallowed again, "Yes, ma'am?"
"I've never thought a Black Market dealer would be so worried for . Don't I belong to the group of people you absolutely despise? And... Please, this warning after all this ti? All those preparations?" She asked with a smile, looking over at him...
... From her place in the middle of hundreds of runes on the ground, and several more powerful runes embedded onto her. Several bizarre artifacts surrounding her in a circle, her entire body is riddled with dark ink and runes.
"You've co here for 4 years straight to begin this process, and gather the materials, Esteed Bishop. Call it professional courtesy. This... This really is insane after all. Even if you stopped right now, it wouldn't be half as unreasonable as going through with it. You may die! And... If you die, a bishop such as yourself, it's bad for my business. It's my head on the line, as well."
"Worry not," She sighed, "I've cast a dead-man's switch on my body in case I perish. I will wither away, leaving no trace I was here."
He flinched.
"Follow through with it." She ordered calmly.
She took a deep breath. "I'm prepared to face the consequences. And if you'll bring my daughter up again... I've told you. She wants nothing to do with anymore, so it's alright."
Mika and Rika stood in the corner, unmoving... though they solemnly lowered their heads. They appeared as youthful as they always had.
A mory stirred in their minds.
------- 4 YEARS AGO -------
"How do we..."
"...keep our youthful..."
"...appearance, Amoria?"
The twins had chid together then, hesitant.
"Yes. Tell ," Amoria had replied calmly.
They looked down, biting their lips.
"Salem Dyke wanted us to be... pretty," one of them whispered.
"So he used a forbidden ritual," the other continued.
"It cut us away from the Goddess's embrace."
Amoria's gaze sharpened. "How?" she asked, cutting them off—her voice calm, but her forced smile made it clear: she would not be dissuaded.
The twins flinched.
"...Amoria," one whispered.
"Don't," the other urged.
"It's not worth it."
They exchanged a glance before continuing, voices trembling:
"We're susceptible to curses now..."
"...and no longer in any God's grace."
"And when we die..."
"... Our souls will be bound to our corpses. Forever trapped in our bodies."
"IF you die, you an." Amoria let out.
"Everyone die, Amoria."
"ENOUGH. Tell ." She cut them off again; glaring at the twins who went completely silent.
No response.
Amoria sighed and began walking around inside the cathedral, looking away from the two twins.
"A year ago," she murmured, "I told Lizzy the truth."
Silence.
"About her biological father. Magus. The Demon Lord's connection to Van." Amoria asked, her head half-turned.
The twins only lowered their heads.
Her gaze fell.
"Needless to say, she was shocked. In that mont, she told she wanted nothing to do with . I thought, maybe, the girl just needed ti and space. It is, after all, not easy news to bear."
She blinked slowly.
"To be told you're the product of hypnosis... and that even years after the spell was broken, your own mother kept that truth from you." Her jaw tightened. "Even if I did it to protect her. Even if I knew she'd react like this..."
She paused, steadying her breath.
"She pressed for the truth. I gave it to her. And even now—one year later—just days ago, she said she still needs more ti. That she can't even look at ."
Her voice trembled, then tightened.
"Because apparently..." She gave a dry, bitter chuckle.
"I am a walking reminder that she's the result of hypnosis. And worse..."
Her voice dropped.
"A reminder that she almost developed romantic feelings for her own father because of it."
She exhaled, raising her eyes toward the twins.
"I know she's hurting. I know she's in pain."
"But lately... I feel like I'm never allowed to show just how much I—" She clenched her teeth.
"How much I want to beat her senseless for the shit she's saying to ...!"
Her voice cracked, volu rising.
"That she can't look at after all this ti—!!"
"It hurts!! It also hurts!!"
She held herself, trembling.
"Well... she can afford it now, can't she? Focusing on herself. Not seeing . She has a husband. A child. A ho. She doesn't need our bond anymore... It's not necessary for her survival, so she can allow herself to spit on "
Her voice thinned.
"Amoria, you know it isn't—"
"She doesn't need as her mother." Amoria cut them off. "She's moved on, it seems. And I suppose... this is the result."
Her brow tensed.
"The result of letting her think for herself, instead of bending her gently to my will. Despite everything... I only ever wanted the one relationship I treasured above all to remain pure."
She whispered the word.
"Pure. Pure."
A bitter laugh crept from her throat. Mika and Rika grew more uncomfortable by the minute, montarily sharing somber looks.
"But that's the truth, isn't it? Purity doesn't last. The mont you show soone the dirt beneath your skin... they spit it back at you. The other party walks. Spites you. The mont you open yourself up... show the impurities... they leave."
"Amoria," one of them interjected more firmly now, "calling your daughter the other party—"
"I'LL CALL HER WHAT I LIKE!"
Another beat of silence.
"She calls whatever she so desires, after all. Like I chose to be raped and manipulated by Magus. Like I chose to be abandoned by the man I loved…"
Her fists clenched.
"…Like I chose to give birth to her. Like I chose to love her…" Amoria stopped herself, trembling.
She gripped her gown, hard—until her knuckles whitened.
Then, after a long breath, she steadied her voice.
"I won't lie to you, Mika. Rika." She cleared her throat.
"I want to do it... for the chance that he might return. For when I find him again."
She took a breath.
"Van. Even if he's... married."
"Because despite breaking his heart," she mumbled, "and despite him falling for soone else... I still saw it in his eyes. Love. For ."
Her voice softened.
"Love, even while he knew every filthy little secret I carried."
She clenched her robe with slightly trembling, wrinkled fingers.
"Is it really so wrong to start chasing what I want?"
She turned to look at them, her gaze steady.
"...."
"So tell ."
"I've no one else to live for anyway."
------------------------
He nodded, sweating as he drew blood from his palm and touched the edge of the runes. They started to glow.
"Just... Who are you doing this for...?" He asked lastly.
Amoria then smiled, looking up to the ceiling as the runes on her body and surrounding her began to glow a vibrant blue.
"The only man I've ever truly loved." She murmured as her eyes shimred.
And so the ritual comnced.
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