A late teen Cedric, chained and frightened, pressed himself back against the cold stone wall. His breathing quickened, his eyes wide with sheer panic as he stared at the ominous figure standing calmly before him.
The young miss of the Evangelion Family—Aira, whose existence had been almost mythic, shrouded in seclusion and mystery for years—now stood in front of him.
He had only seen an old photo of her in her early childhood days where she had delicate, angelic features.
But now they seed to have had transford into sothing grotesque, almost demonic. Long, sickly white hair cascaded down her shoulders, pale gray spikes with radiant white veins protruding from her skin like thorns on a pale flower. Pulsing white veins spiderwebbed across her ghostly face and arms, creating a disturbing contrast to her ghastly pale skin.
But most terrifying were her eyes—radiant, brilliant white orbs emanating an unearthly, chilling brilliance that pierced straight through him.
"Why... why are you doing this to ?" Cedric choked out, voice breaking in fear and confusion. His wrists strained against the chains binding him to the stone, the tal links rattling sharply. "I never did anything wrong. Does Master Evangelion know you're doing sothing bad like this? Help! Sobody please!" he scread desperately, turning his gaze upwards, hoping soone, anyone, might hear his plea.
But his desperate screams echoed back emptily, absorbed by the dense, soundproof walls.
Aira stepped forward slowly, her voice eerily gentle despite the terrifying visage she presented. "Cedric, please calm down. No one can hear you. No one even knows we're here. Not even my father, who built this chamber. I made sure he erased his own mories after he constructed it."
Her words fell upon Cedric like ice-cold water, silencing his screams instantly. His eyes widened with shock and despair, the grim realization settling upon him that no rescue was coming. No one knew.
Aira regarded him quietly, her terrifying eyes filled with an unsettling blend of sadness and possessiveness, "I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. I also know you don't truly know ... not in this lifeti but believe when I say I know you better than anyone else. I promise, I'm not doing this to hurt you. I am doing this to save you."
Cedric stared at her in disbelief. "S-save ? How could kidnapping and chaining soone in a place like this be called saving? Please… just let go…" he pleaded, his voice trembling.
"You'll understand one day," she whispered soothingly. "I'll remove the chains if you promise to stay here quietly and listen to . Can you promise that?"
Cedric furrowed his brows anxiously, "H-how long do you want to stay here?"
Aira tilted her head slightly, as though considering, then said in a detached manner, "Not long at all. Just a few more years, until that damned entity cos to claim your life again."
Cedric gasped, recoiling in horror, "A-A few years?!"
But Aira continued, indifferent to his reaction. "Before then, I must find more Radems or complete difficult quests. I have to break this Level 40 barrier holding back. I—I can't fail again. Not again."
Confused and horrified by her words, Cedric grew agitated, his panic intensifying. With desperation he began violently tugging at his chains. His eyes flared brilliant gold as he summoned every ounce of his mana, desperately attempting to free himself.
He wished he had trained to beco stronger but he wasn't allowed to and was kept busy all the ti.
And now he was suffering for it. The tal bit painfully into his wrists, blood beginning to trickle down his arms.
Aira's focus snapped back to him, noticing his frantic struggles. Her voice softened anxiously, almost pleadingly. "Cedric, please stop. You'll only hurt yourself. Those chains are unbreakable."
But her words only spurred Cedric's panic further. Teeth clenched, muscles straining, he continued pulling, his wrists tearing deeply, blood now dripping heavily to the stone floor.
Seeing the crimson trails pouring from his wrists, thousands of brutal images—Cedric dying again and again in every conceivable way—flashed through Aira's mind, overwhelming her senses. Her radiant eyes flared brighter, pain and anger overtaking her rational thought as she clutched her head in agony.
"I said stop!" she roared, her voice raw, horrifying, and instinctively she struck out in pain.
A loud, sickening explosion echoed as her palm made contact with Cedric's face. Aira froze, eyes wide, staring at the bloodied mist drifting in the air. Cedric's headless body slumped limply, dangling grotesquely from the chains.
Aira stood there, trembling, staring blankly at her bloodied hand, whispering in denial, "No... Why did you make do this? Why couldn't you just listen to ?"
A mont later she violently shook her head, her expression shifting rapidly to anguish and desperate remorse. "No... I-I'm sorry... I didn't an to hurt you…I was-...I'll fix this. You're not gone. I can fix this," she whispered frantically, eyes wide and vacant, laughter hollow and lifeless.
She raised her trembling hand, eyes shining brilliantly white, as ti itself bent to her will. The blood retraced its path, flowing backwards, reassembling Cedric's shattered skull. His head reattached seamlessly, eyes blinking open once again in panic, breath ragged as he again struggled uselessly in chains.
"Go to sleep, Cedric," Aira murmured gently, pressing her palm gently to his forehead. His struggles ceased imdiately as unconsciousness overca him.
She tenderly caressed his still-bloodied wrists, whispering, "Perhaps it would be best if you remain asleep until I finish. At least you won't feel anything."
Then she stood, pacing frantically across the room, talking to herself in a manic frenzy. "No new quests with Radems... I can't waste any more ti. Should I try absorbing Deviars? No, no… my body would reject them or maybe not. Argh! Why is this Level 40 barrier impossible to break?!"
A primal, raw scream of frustration tore from her throat as her fist slamd against the stone wall, creating a massive dent that echoed ominously through the chamber.
Asher watched this scene unfold in indescribable anguish. He desperately wished he could intervene—shout, plead, anything to stop her madness. But he was helpless, imprisoned within these horrifying mories. His heart twisted painfully, knowing this monstrous version of Aira was a result of her endless regressions and his countless deaths.
That was when he rembered that entity's words, [You walk a path carved by sothing older than death... and ti does not lend its power without demanding a piece of your soul.] And it seed that with each regression, she was losing a piece of her soul until now where barely a part of Aira remained.
But he knew he couldn't bla her. After going through all those years again and again, even he would have gone mad and lost.
As the echoes of her scream slowly faded, Aira slumped against the cold stone wall, her shoulders trembling as whispers of hopelessness and agony escaped her lips.
"Why... why is it so hard to protect you, no matter how much power I gain? Why can't fate let have you, even just once?"
In that mont, despite her terrifying appearance, she seed heartbreakingly fragile. Her loneliness and suffering pierced through Asher's soul like an icy dagger, and he wished he could give her a hug and tell her it was okay to stop. But he could only watch in silent, helpless despair.
Soon, Aira took a slow, trembling breath, straightening her hunched shoulders. The fragile vulnerability that had briefly cracked her terrifying facade lted away, replaced by a cold, ruthless mask of determination. Her radiant white eyes glowed brighter, an eerie, resolute fire burning fiercely within.
"That's it," she muttered darkly to herself, her voice edged with a chilling resolve. "I will just have to activate the Last Judgnt quest myself. Surely wiping out the demons should earn at least a single Radem." Her gaze flickered thoughtfully, "And if not, I might as well grab so Deviars from there, at the very least and test my body."
Asher's ethereal presence watched helplessly, a painful sigh escaping him. Never before had he wished so desperately that none of this was real. The thought of his loved ones, Rowena, Isola, Ravina, Sabina—all of his people potentially facing annihilation filled him with an anguish he couldn't bear. Even if in this twisted version of Zalthor, an "Asher" didn't exist, their fates still pierced his heart.
But before his mind could spiral further, Aira approached Cedric's unconscious form. She knelt down gently, brushing a strand of his ssy hair away from his peaceful face. Her voice softened montarily, a flicker of tenderness breaking through her hardened exterior.
"I'm leaving for a quest now, Cedric," she whispered softly, almost lovingly. "I know you can't hear , but you'll be safe here, away from harm. I promise I'll return quickly—and when I succeed, all of this suffering will finally end before you even realize it."
Standing up, she straightened herself and with a wave of her hand, a radiant portal ripped open before her. Aira glanced back once more at Cedric, eyes filled with grim determination, and stepped forward into the swirling vortex of light, vanishing instantly.
An uncertain amount of ti passed in the heavy silence of the chamber—Asher felt as though minutes and hours blurred into aningless fragnts. Suddenly, the still air rippled and shuddered violently. A dark green portal tore itself open, slicing through the air with a guttural sound, causing the chamber to vibrate.
From within stumbled a young woman, breathing heavily as if she had just survived a harrowing ordeal. She was bewitchingly beautiful, her pale skin starkly contrasting with the elegant black armor she wore, emblazoned with an crimson ornate dragon emblem that glowed faintly. Her raven-black hair cascaded like silk over her shoulders, emphasizing her sharp, elongated ears. But it was her eyes—dark golden, fierce yet haunted—that shook Asher imdiately.
"I hope this is it," the young woman mumbled breathlessly, her voice soft yet burdened with urgency. She took another step into the chamber, the portal behind her sealing shut silently, leaving her standing in the quiet space.
Asher furrowed his brows deeply, confused yet deeply unsettled by the eerie familiarity emanating from her. He watched as her gaze locked onto Cedric's chained, unconscious form. Instantly, her golden eyes widened in shock and grief.
"Oh devils…" she whispered, stepping closer, disbelief clear on her face. Her voice trembled slightly, filled with sorrow and disappointnt. "I can't believe she really did this to you, Papa… Did she truly go mad?"
A bolt of shock and disbelief ran through Asher. His thoughts froze, unable to process the words clearly for a brief second. "Papa?" he mumbled incredulously, eyes widening with a mixture of awe, disbelief, and profound sorrow. Realization struck him like lightning—this young woman, fierce yet familiar, was none other than Ravina, his daughter!
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