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Still under the influence of his brainwashed state, Mark struggled to resist. He grabbed Elayne’s shoulders, pushed her away, and swung his claw, scorching her with its heat.
Elayne clenched her teeth and began weaving threads of her ghostly soul and consciousness into Mark’s own. He struck her body with a punch, but she pressed on. Gardenia ensured Elayne remained healed—just enough to survive.
"Mark...! MARK!"
Elayne’s voice echoed through an endless inferno.
Mark’s soul.
After ten years of tornt, it had beco a purgatory in itself. No matter how hard she searched, Elayne couldn’t find him.
"Mark...! No...! Please...!"
She gripped her needle and pierced his soul. Using Shade’s technique, she began unraveling the Curse Runes. One by one, they fell apart. The pain and agony bound to them slowly faded, yet the purgatory lingered.
"Mark..."
Elayne walked through the flas of suffering. And she burned her soul alongside his. To understand his pain, she chose to share it.
Closing her eyes, she recalled the good tis.
"Rember when you awkwardly asked to hang out?"
"Those als we shared, chatting about anything after work?"
"Mark... do you rember greeting every morning, smiling like no one else?"
She smiled through the flas. No pain could ever erase those mories.
"Rember when we t at BNLO for the first ti, hahah..."
"Or when we defeated the Demon King of Miasma and saved the forest?"
"Or... the ti we visited my farm and t my family? I miss them..."
She kept walking, calling out to him.
Slowly... sothing began to change.
The flas she absorbed started transforming into countless mories and scenes.
"Rember when you asked out?"
"Or... hehe, when you kissed for the first ti?"
Elayne touched her lips, smiling faintly. She descended deeper into the endless purgatory of fire. As she spoke, her emotions reshaped the flas into a beautiful landscape of mories.
"I love you, Mark... I love you so much. We’ve been through so much together. So please... don’t forget . Don’t forget us."
She stepped into the deepest abyss—beyond the flas, into pure darkness.
The void.
There was... nothing.
As she gazed into the emptiness within Mark’s soul, Elayne feared his mories were truly lost. And yet...
Why did the flas above still burn, shaped like their mories?
"No..."
She shook her head, rembering what she had once discovered.
"mories are never truly gone."
"As long as our souls remain, attachnts, grudges, and bonds linger."
"As long as you’re here, Mark... sowhere inside, you still rember us."
She plunged into the darkness, her soul diving deeper, risking fragntation and death.
And yet...
"Mark...! Rember our first ti together? How good it felt? We shared warmth, kissed, and embraced. I rember the love you gave —it ant everything."
The shadows began to shift, taking shape as she recalled their ti together. Even mories from the Netherworld, ten years ago, surfaced. They had endured everything—because they were together.
"Mark...! I love you, Mark!"
She kept diving.
"MARK!!!"
Then, as her hand touched the bottom of that abyssal sea of nothingness—
FLAAASH!
A brilliant white light surged forth, illuminating the darkness. The shadows and purgatory flas transford into radiant light.
Elayne found herself within a warm, comforting soul—filled with love. Countless mories returned.
Within that soul, Elayne and Mark found each other again.
"Mark?"
"Elayne..."
He was curled on the floor, clutching his head, sobbing.
How much had he suffered?
Elayne approached and embraced him tightly.
"Everything is going to be okay... I promise."
"I hurt you...! I...!"
Mark couldn’t believe what he had done. He hated himself.
"You didn’t do it willingly. You were manipulated."
"No...! I...! I was... Ugh...!"
"Let’s go, Mark. Our story isn’t over."
"Ahh... I don’t know if I can keep going..."
"You can."
"But...!"
"You can, Mark. You’ve always inspired to work hard, to keep moving forward. Now it’s my turn to do the sa for you."
"Elayne... Ugh...! Elayne!"
Mark broke down, hugging her tightly. Elayne held him close and kissed him.
"Let’s go."
She smiled.
"Yeah... let’s go."
Mark nodded, took her hand, and in the next mont—
They regained consciousness.
Cerberus, Shade, Dorothy, Sailor, and Norman were fighting to protect them. Dozens of guards and commanders surrounded them. Two nobles watched from above, ready to intervene.
"Elayne! You’re awake!" Norman shouted. "W-We have to go!"
"Is Mark ready?!" Sailor asked.
"He is!" Elayne replied.
Mark was amazed by the new allies Elayne had gathered.
"Mark... let’s fight."
"..."
Mark nodded and rose. His massive body blazed with fire. The Undead Guards and Commanders stepped back, awestruck and terrified.
"Y-You bastards...!"
"How dare you cause such chaos in White Bone City!"
"You’ve made a grave mistake!"
"We’ll chase you to the ends of the world!"
"Let’s see you try."
Elayne smiled as Mark swung his blazing arms. His fiery soul transford into twin swords, cleaving through the enemy.
SLAASH! SLAASH! SLAASH!
He no longer needed a weapon—his soul was the blade.
"Gyaaaahhh!"
"Run! The champion’s gone berserk!"
"That witch brainwashed him!"
"Commander Blazer is dead! What now?!"
The guards and commanders turned on each other, torn between fleeing and fighting. In the chaos, they had no choice but to let them escape.
Elayne and her companions climbed onto Mark’s broad back. With his Ghostly Phoenix Wings, he soared into the dark pit.
The space around the pit warped strangely. Dozens of guards attacked it, trying to breach the barrier.
"Huhuh, how interesting."
"Demon Tree Religious Order, huh? I’ll be watching."
Elayne heard two powerful voices behind her. The nobles who had observed the arena spoke but did not intervene. Though mildly irritated, they seed to admire Elayne’s talent and resolve.
As Mark pierced the spatial barrier, he and his allies vanished into the dark pit.
As Mark and Elayne vanished into the dark pit, the spatial barrier sealed behind them, warping and distorting the space around it. The guards outside continued their futile assault, their weapons clashing against the shimring veil.
Inside the pit, the world twisted.
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