Asher was still reeling in shock, the world spinning uncontrollably around him. Naida… Her presence struck him like a bolt of lightning, jarring and rciless.
He stared numbly at the woman he had loved and trusted so much, the woman who had betrayed him at the very end—yet here she stood, elegant, powerful, and strangely familiar beside Ravina, his daughter.
His thoughts were tangled, logic frayed into confusion and disbelief. How was Naida even alive, let alone fighting to save his human self and appearing to have joined hands with his daughter?
His heart clenched painfully as mories surged unbidden, bitter-sweet fragnts of monts he had long buried deep within his soul. But his turmoil was quickly overtaken by urgency as the scene unfolded before him.
Ravina, her breaths shaky, clutched tightly onto Naida's hand, slowly pulling herself back onto her feet. With a strained groan, she swiftly injected herself with a vial filled with dark green liquid, replenishing her drained mana reserves.
"You could have just helped from the beginning," Ravina complained with frustration, grimacing as she wiped blood from her chin. "I almost died back there, Aunty Naida!"
Naida's lips curled gently into an amused, yet calculating smile as she glanced toward the rubble where Aira was stirring. "Don't be upset now, Ravina. You know it was far wiser to hide my presence until she exhausted most of her mana attempting to kill you." She tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing in observation. "And look at her now. She didn't even bother reversing ti to dodge my attack."
Ravina rolled her eyes, yet didn't retort—begrudgingly aware Naida was right.
Asher was surprised to see Ravina treating Naida with respect, like her own aunty despite the fact that Naida almost let her die! Of course her explanation made sense but it didn't sit right with him how she still risked Ravina's life.
Across from them, debris crumbled away as Aira stood slowly, her expression dark and ominous. Fury blazed within her radiant white eyes, fixated intensely upon Naida's elegant and defiant form.
"Who dares?!" Aira demanded, her voice echoing with chilling nace, anger radiating fiercely from her figure.
Naida calmly t her gaze, an unyielding calmness in her red eyes, unwavering beneath Aira's intimidating fury. "Soone who won't stand by and watch you destroy everything," she paused, a subtle sadness slipping into her tone, "including yourself."
Aira steadied her stance, her breaths ragged, gripping her radiant staff until her knuckles whitened, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You will regret intervening," she growled coldly, "Both of you."
Ravina grimaced anxiously, whispering urgently to Naida, "Damn, why'd you agitate her even more? How are we supposed to calm her down now?"
"That's simple," Naida replied calmly, tightening her grip upon her elegant red staff adorned with intricate rose carvings. "We fight until she's forced to listen. Until then, no words will reach her."
"Huh? As if—" Ravina's retort was abruptly silenced as Aira vanished, reappearing before them in an instant.
Both Ravina and Naida moved instinctively, readying their weapons to counter, but Aira's patience had run dry. Her radiant eyes shone violently as she froze ti, bitterly determined to swiftly end this troubleso battle.
Ti stood still; silence hung deafeningly heavy. Aira calmly grasped one of Ravina's jagged, dark-green flaming swords and plunged it brutally into Ravina's chest, piercing clean through her heart. With a swift, precise shove, she impaled Ravina directly into Naida, skewering both bodies grotesquely together in a single grueso strike.
Aira stepped back, grim satisfaction flickering across her face. She knew Ravina could co back from death with an explosion, but doing so now would surely harm her companion severely, if not lethally. She retreated slightly, snapping her fingers with an arrogant flourish as ti resud.
An explosion of dark green flas erupted violently from Ravina's body, the powerful blast engulfing the chamber instantly. Aira raised a barrier of radiant white energy, smiling coldly behind it as flas danced harmlessly around her and an unconscious Cedric.
She even noticed Naida's aura suddenly vanishing albeit a little strange that her aura didn't fade gradually just like how a dying person's aura would.
But as the flas dispersed, her satisfaction lted swiftly into a frown of surprise—Naida was calmly walking in from the chamber's shadows, unscathed and composed.
Ravina, now in her skeletal Hellbringer form blazing fiercely with dark green flas, bitterly muttered, pulling her sword from her own smoldering ribcage. "I can't believe she stabbed with my own blade…"
"An illusory clone?" Aira muttered angrily, realization darkening her expression further.
Naida calmly nodded, stepping closer to Ravina, the elegant crimson robes swirling gracefully around her slender form. "I anticipated you'd seek the quickest way to kill us both. But that won't happen. As you've seen, we're rather stubborn about staying alive."
Aira's eyes flashed murderously. "All I have to do is find the real you hiding sowhere in this chamber, and you're dead."
Naida tilted her head slightly, her serene expression unperturbed. "I'm certain you can. But the real question is—can you find before it's too late?" Her ruby eyes flicked aningfully towards Aira's hands.
Confused, Aira glanced downward, only to have her eyes widen in realization. Her hands had aged visibly, wrinkled skin appearing like delicate parchnt of soone far older than herself.
While busy fighting, she sohow failed to notice the toll ti was taking on her body.
"So that's her weakness…" Ravina murmured in stunned realization. "She manipulates ti at the cost of her own ti."
Naida nodded slowly, a thoughtful sadness crossing her elegant features. "Exactly. A mortal's body isn't ant to wield power over ti itself. Every ti she tinkers with ti, she ages irreversibly."
"Why didn't my brother tell that sooner?" Ravina complained petulantly, shooting a frustrated glare toward Naida. "If I'd known earlier—"
"If you'd known," Naida interrupted smoothly, "she might have sensed your strategy and held back, leaving her less vulnerable. We don't want that, do we?"
Ravina exhaled irritably, though a begrudging smirk appeared despite herself. "You always have an answer for everything."
Aira, shaking with anger and panic, regained herself quickly. Her brilliant eyes narrowed with raw determination, stepping forward despite the toll visibly weighing upon her deford body. "No matter how many tricks you have, I will not let you take him from ."
Naida's expression softened briefly with genuine sympathy. "You've suffered enough, Aira. We're not here to take him—we're here to break this cycle of suffering we all have been trapped in."
"Lies!" Aira snapped bitterly, raising her staff again, mana surging violently around her. "I've co too far to fail now. I'll kill you as many tis as necessary."
Asher watched helplessly from the shadows, heart wrenching painfully in his chest. His daughter and the woman he'd once loved stood bravely against a broken, desperate version of Aira, driven insane by infinite despair and loss. He understood now that this battle wasn't simply between enemies—it was a tragic struggle of victims, each desperately clinging to hope in their own tortured way.
Naida planted her staff firmly into the fractured ground, tendrils of crimson mist swirling elegantly around her, vivid roses blossoming vividly from thin air, illusory yet radiantly alive. Her voice was calm yet firm, eyes glowing resolutely with determination.
"Then let us end this, Aira," Naida announced decisively. "We will free you, whether you desire it or not."
Ravina nodded fiercely, reigniting her twin swords, "For everyone's sake, yours included."
"Yaarghh!!" Aira roared in defiance, her radiant aura flaring violently. Reality trembled as her power surged desperately, recklessly beyond limits.
They clashed violently, power cascading through the chamber, threatening to tear it apart with every brutal collision. Aira, her body rapidly weakening yet eyes blazing with undying determination, surged forward with relentless precision. Each attack was a terrifying dance of desperation and fury, mana flaring like blinding white suns around her staff.
Naida, composed yet wary, moved fluidly, illusions multiplying around her, each graceful clone mirroring her movents perfectly. Her scarlet robes billowed elegantly, roses blooming illusorily around her with each subtle motion, masking her true position.
Ravina struck with ferocity, her dual swords burning fiercely with dark green flas that bent the very fabric of space. Her attacks distorted gravity, locking Aira montarily in slowed, crushing fields that Aira violently shattered each ti, reversing or freezing the very flow of ti to regain her footing.
"Stop this, Aira!" Ravina shouted over the roar of flas and crashing mana, "You're killing yourself!"
"Silence!" Aira snapped furiously, twisting ti again and suddenly vanishing, reappearing instantly behind Naida's illusion. Without hesitation, she plunged her staff into Naida's heart, satisfaction blooming darkly on her face—only to watch the figure disintegrate into a cascade of illusory petals.
"Another clone?!" Aira's voice trembled in rage and frustration. Her breathing beca heavier, each manipulation of ti visibly aging her further.
Naida's calm voice echoed from multiple directions, taunting yet gentle. "You're so close, yet so far, Aira. How long can your body endure this?"
"Show yourself, coward!" Aira snarled, her eyes darting frantically, analyzing the chamber, hunting desperately for the slightest imperfection in Naida's illusion.
Observing from behind a shattered pillar, Naida's true form furrowed her brow slightly, sensing Aira's intense focus honing in on her real position.
"Not good," Naida muttered softly, her eyes narrowing with urgency. "She's getting close. Ravina. We have to shift our strategy."
Ravina swiftly maneuvered back while one of Naida's clones kept Aira busy, her breathing ragged, eyes wide with confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"
Naida, sweating profusely under the strain of controlling her clones, glanced sharply toward Cedric's chained, unconscious form, her voice tense and decisive. "We force her to burn herself out by using her weakness against her. Make her freeze or even better reverse ti continuously."
"How?" Ravina gasped incredulously. "She controls ti itself. She won't rewind it unless—"
Naida cut her off, her gaze hard yet understanding, "Unless sothing she loves more than herself is taken from her. We have to kill Cedric."
Ravina's blazing eyes widened in sheer horror and disbelief. "What did you just say?" she whispered in a high pitch voice, gripping her flaming swords so tightly they trembled. "You want us to kill my father? Even if it's just his past self—how could you even suggest that?!"
Naida turned sharply, gripping Ravina's arm with quiet intensity. "Ravina, listen carefully! Aira will never allow Cedric to die. She will reverse ti again and again, draining her life with every attempt. We need to push her past the point of no return. This is exactly how we win."
Ravina's expression twisted in agony and frustration, realization flooding her eyes. She grit her teeth, cursing bitterly under her breath. "Damn it…" Her gaze slowly turned toward Cedric's vulnerable, sleeping form, heart clenching painfully. "I'm sorry, Papa… But it's for your own good…"
Asher, helplessly witnessing this, could only shake in disbelief, "No fucking way…" he whispered inaudibly, trapped by the cruel helplessness of being rely a spectator. Yet he understood, with reluctant clarity, the brilliance and terrifying cruelty of Naida's desperate strategy.
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